HOW

LEARNING WORKS
John Almarode | Douglas Fisher | Nancy Frey

HOW
LEARNING WORKS
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 Contents
Acknowledgmentsx

INTRODUCTION1
The Purpose of This Learning Playbook 3
The Learning Plan With the Modules 3
Learning Within the Modules 7
Collaborating for Great Learning 7

PART I 11

WHAT DOES LEARNING LOOK

1 LIKE IN YOUR CLASSROOM? 12
A Definition of Learning 14
Checks for Understanding 21

WHAT ARE DIFFERENT WAYS

2 TO THINK ABOUT LEARNING? 22
Three Different Types of Knowledge 24
Three Parts of the Learning Process 27
Checks for Understanding 28

3 WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO LEARNING? 29

Acquisition30
Consolidation31
Storage32
Challenges to Learning by Design 33
Checks for Understanding 36
 4 HOW DO STUDENTS LEARN? 37
Learning Myths 38
The Science of Learning 40
Checks for Understanding 42

PART II 43

5 PROMISING PRINCIPLE 1: MOTIVATION 44

What Is Motivation? 45
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 47
How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 50
Checks for Understanding 53

6 PROMISING PRINCIPLE 2: ATTENTION 54

What Is Attention? 55
Factors Influencing Attention 57
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 59
How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 61
Checks for Understanding 64

PROMISING PRINCIPLE 3:
7 ELABORATE ENCODING 65
What Is Elaborate Encoding? 67
Components of Elaborate Encoding 68
Approaches to Promoting Elaborate Encoding 70
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 71
How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 72
Checks for Understanding 75

PROMISING PRINCIPLE 4:
8 RETRIEVAL AND PRACTICE 76
What Is Retrieval and Practice? 78
Timing of Retrieval 80
Types of Retrieval Practice 81
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 82
 How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 83
Checks for Understanding 87

9 PROMISING PRINCIPLE 5: COGNITIVE LOAD 88

What Is Cognitive Load? 89
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 94
How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 95
Checks for Understanding 98

 ROMISING PRINCIPLE 6:
P
10 PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE 99
What Is Productive Struggle? 102
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 105
How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 107
Checks for Understanding 109

11 PROMISING PRINCIPLE 7: FEEDBACK 110

What Is Feedback and What Makes It Effective? 111
What Does This Principle or Practice Look Like in the Classroom? 113
How Do We Implement This Principle and Practice Into
Our Classrooms? 117
Checks for Understanding 119
Where to Next? 120

PART III 121

12 EXPLICIT STRATEGY INSTRUCTION 122

The Gradual Release of Responsibility 125
Effective Learning Practices 127
A Return to Germane Cognitive Load 127
Checks for Understanding 130

13 LEARNING STRATEGY 1: GOAL SETTING 131

The Benefits of Goal Setting 132
Getting Ready for Goal Setting 134
The Process of Goal Setting 137
Checks for Understanding 141
14 LEARNING STRATEGY 2:
INTEGRATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE 142
The Benefits of Integrating Prior Knowledge 144
Getting Ready to Integrate Prior Knowledge 146
A Process for Integrating Prior Knowledge 147
Bonus Material: Annotated Reading 152
Checks for Understanding 154

15 LEARNING STRATEGY 3: SUMMARIZING 155

Essential Characteristics of Summarizing 158
Getting Ready to Summarize 159
A Process for the Explicit Instruction of Summarizing 161
Checks for Understanding 165

16 LEARNING STRATEGY 4: MAPPING 166

Three Different Ways to Map 167
Getting Ready for Mapping 173
A Process for the Explicit Instruction of Summarizing 175
Checks for Understanding 178

17 LEARNING STRATEGY 5: SELF-TESTING 179

Benefits of Self-Testing 181
What if Learners Make Mistakes? 182
Getting Ready to Implement Self-Testing 183
A Process for Implementing Self-Testing 184
Bonus Material: Cooperative Learning 188
Checks for Understanding 190

LEARNING STRATEGY 6:
18 ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION 191
Benefits of Elaborative Interrogation 193
Getting Ready to Implement Elaborative Interrogation 196
Bonus Material: Jigsaw 197
A Process for Implementing Elaborative Interrogation 199
Checks for Understanding 203
PART IV  205

19 GENERATING AND GATHERING EVIDENCE 206

Planning for Evaluation 207
Success Criteria and Evaluation 208
Planning to Gather Evidence 210
Planning to Collect and Organize Evidence 213
Making Sense of the Evidence 215
Conclusion215

References217
Index219
About the Authors 221

Visit the companion website at

resources.corwin.com/howlearningworks
for resources.

online
Note From the Publisher: The authors have provided video and
resources web content throughout the book that is available to you through
QR (quick response) codes. To read a QR code, you must have
a smartphone or tablet with a camera. We recommend that you
download a QR code reader app that is made specifically for your
phone or tablet brand.
 Acknowledgments
Corwin gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the following reviewers:

Dr. Lynn Angus Ramos

K–12 English Language Arts Coordinator
DeKalb County School District

Amy Colton
Education Consultant
Center for Collaborative Inquiry

x
 Introduction
This playbook is about how learning works—not by chance, but by design. How do
students learn and how can we leverage this knowledge into great learning, through
the design of our classrooms, learning experiences, and tasks? We want our students
to effectively learn the content, skills, and understandings associated with the specific
subject area of focus. From inferences in English language arts, deforestation in envi-
ronmental science, perspective in art, or spatial awareness in physical education, the
range of topics and ideas is as diverse as the students in our classrooms. In addition,
the content, skills, and understandings associated with each content area are not
isolated from social, emotional, affective, and language learning. The characterization
of learning as “reading, writing, and arithmetic” does not even come close to concep-
tualizing the highly complex, multidimensional, highly coveted outcome we strive for
in our classrooms: flexible, durable, and usable learning.

Consider the dynamic first-grade classroom of Rebecca Anderson, where her students
are learning about equivalence. Here is how she has clarified and articulated the day’s
learning.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

Today I am learning about things that are equal. I will know I have learned it when

For example, 17 – 5 = 16 – 4 •• I can describe what it means to be “equal”

in mathematics.
Today I am also learning the importance of
•• I can determine if two number sentences
explaining my mathematics thinking to my
are equal.
classmates.
•• I can explain my thinking using different models.

In addition to what is explicitly shared through her learning intentions and success
criteria, use the space on the next page to develop a list of what additional learning
Ms. Anderson’s students are expected to know, understand, and be able to do. We will
get you started with an example.

1
2 How Learning Works

1. Different models for showing equivalence

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Ms. Anderson clearly articulates what her students are expected to know, understand,
and be able to do in the learning intentions and success criteria. But her students are
learning more than that. There are aspects of this learning experience not explicitly
stated by Ms. Anderson. For example, students must learn what language is involved
in a mathematical explanation, how to structure a mathematical explanation, the differ-
ent models for explaining their thinking, as well as the social, emotional, and affective
aspects of persisting in problem solving and interacting with their peers. In other words,
the learning expectations of Ms. Anderson are far more complex and have greater
depth and breadth than merely determining whether 17 – 5 is or is not equal to 16 – 4.
And this is as it should be. The underlying point of this example is that learning is com-
plex and multidimensional, and therefore the learning experiences should be designed
as such and not left to chance. Let’s look at another example.

Betty Dixon is using The Giver by Lois Lowry as the anchor text for the following stan-
dards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State
School Officers, 2010):

1. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.2. Determine a theme or central idea of a text and

analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship
to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.
2. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3. Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or
incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character,
or provoke a decision.
3. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.4. Determine the meaning of words and phrases as
they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze
the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies
or allusions to other texts.
 Introduction 3

4. CCSS.ELA.W.8.3b. Use narrative techniques, such as dialogue, pacing,

description, and reflection, to develop experiences, events, and/or characters.
(© Copyright 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices
and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.)

In this particular example, our focus is not necessarily on the explicit or implied learning
intentions and success criteria, but on the transfer of learning. Ms. Dixon wants her students
to learn about theme as well as the ways in which dialogue and character actions propel
the plot forward, figurative and connotative meanings of words and phrases, and narrative
techniques used by the author. She wants her learners to transfer this learning to other
texts and incorporate these literacy skills into their own independent reading. Again, this
is complex, multidimensional, and requires the careful design of learning experiences that
result in both the learning of these ideas and the transfer of this learning to new contexts.

These two scenarios capture exactly what we set out to do in this playbook. Knowing
how learning works can help us design experiences that amplify our students’ learn-
ing outcomes. In other words, how do students learn, and how does the answer to
this question impact the decisions Ms. Anderson and Ms. Dixon make in designing the
learning experiences for their students? Furthermore, how can an understanding of
their own learning benefit our students as they progress toward independent learners?

THE PURPOSE OF THIS LEARNING PLAYBOOK

The purpose of this playbook is to take a closer look at how our students learn so that
we can better design learning experiences that align with how learning works. This
playbook will engage us in unpacking the science of how we learn and design learning
experiences that translate the science of how we learn into promising principles and
practices. This includes implementing instructional approaches and strategies that pro-
mote learning and, at the same time, monitoring our impact on student learning through
generating and gathering evidence of that learning. Richard Mayer asserts that “if you For a video introducing the
want to help people learn, it would be useful for you to know something about how purpose of the playbook,
visit the companion website
learning works” (2011, p. vii). The modules of this playbook will focus on expanding your
at resources.corwin.com/
understanding of how students learn and how to better utilize these ideas in the class- howlearningworks.
room through a process that places the teacher at the center of this work (see Figure I.1). To read a QR code, you
must have a smartphone
However, you likely noticed that the final component of great learning by design is strat- or tablet with a camera.
egy instruction. In this playbook, we will also explore how to better engage students in We recommend that you
download a QR code reader
understanding how they learn and the tools that foster, nurture, and sustain their own app that is made specifically
learning. We want students to take an active role in their learning, selecting the most for your phone or tablet brand.
effective tools to move their own learning forward.

THE LEARNING PLAN WITH THE MODULES

This is a playbook and, by definition, contains a collection of tactics and methods used
by a team to accomplish a common goal and get things done (Merriam-Webster, 2021d).
4 How Learning Works

I.1 GREAT LEARNING BY DESIGN

Discover findings from the

science of learning.

Identify promising principle or practice that

can be implemented into the classroom.

Implement promising principle

or practice into the classroom. Gather evidence of learning
to determine the impact of
the promising principle or
practice.

Strategy instruction—teach the promising

principle or practice to learners to use in
their own learning.

Great Learning
by Design

In the case of this playbook, the common goal is the translation of findings from the sci-
ence of how we learn into promising principles or practices that can be implemented in
classrooms and that students can utilize in their own learning journey. Therefore, each
of the subsequent modules is designed to support your learning about this process.
Just like the previous playbooks, the modules that follow this introduction are not nec-
essarily intended to be completed in sequential order or all at once. When coaches and
their teams go to their playbooks to get things done, they select the plays that best fit
the current context or situation. For example, whether a football club (i.e., soccer team)
uses an overlap, wall pass, spreads the ball wide, or has the winger whip in the cross
depends on the current situation unfolding on the soccer field. The situation on a soccer
field is fluid, as well as complex and multidimensional. Those last two descriptors should
sound familiar—that is how we described the learning in Ms. Anderson’s, Ms. Dixon’s,
and your classroom. The modules in this playbook should be utilized by your team when
the current context or situation calls for the module. So, what’s the plan?

This playbook is divided into four parts (see Figure I.2). The first part will unpack the
science of learning by first developing a description of what is meant by learning in
your classroom, the different ways of thinking about learning, barriers to learning, and
discovering the major findings from the science of learning. What does it mean to learn
something in your classroom? The science of learning offers promising principles or
practices that may work in our classrooms. However, we must make adaptations to
these principles or practices that reflect the local context of the classroom and then
generate evidence that allows both us and our learners to determine if learning has
occurred. Therefore, we must devote time to discover and develop a definition of what
learning looks like in our individual classrooms, within the context of their content area
 Introduction 5

   I.2 HOW LEARNING WORKS PLAYBOOK OVERVIEW

Section Focus

Part I

Module 1 What does learning look like in your classroom?

Module 2 What are different ways to think about learning?

Module 3 What are the barriers to learning?

Module 4 How do students learn?

Part II

Modules 5–11 What are promising principles and practices?

Part III

Modules 12–18 How do we translate promising principles and practices into

learning strategies?

Part IV

Module 19 How do we generate and gather evidence of impact?

and grade level. From there we will engage in a process for evaluating whether a spe-
cific finding from the science of learning is a promising principle or practice.

The second part of this playbook takes an up-close look at specific promising principles
and practices from the science of learning. However, these modules will offer more
than just an overview of the principle and examples. Instead, the emphasis in these
modules will be on how to adapt the promising principles or practices/interventions
based on the local context of individual classrooms (see Figure I.3).

   I.3 IMPLEMENTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

The Principle In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

or Practice

What is the Classroom How to put this

promising principle vignettes from principle into action
or practice? multiple content in your classroom?
What does the areas across How to monitor
research say? muiltiple grade the impact?
levels. Did it work?
6 How Learning Works

Then, we turn our attention to building the capacity in our students to take ownership
of their own learning. Student learning strategies have the potential to considerably
accelerate learning (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021). This is the focus of Part III of this
playbook. Summarizing, spaced practice, interleaved practice, elaborate interrogation,
and transfer strategies are examples of tools that, when implemented effectively by
students, move their learning forward.
online
resources Each module in this section will use the gradual release of responsibility to engage in
For more resources related strategy instruction with the learners in your classroom. As with the previous modules,
to learning strategies, visit there will be an emphasis on adapting the specific implementation of the learning strat-
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ egy based on the local context of your individual classroom—using the learning strate-
howlearningworks. gies to overcome the barriers to learning (see Figure I.4).

  I.4 LEARNING STRATEGY INSTRUCTION FROM PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

The Learning In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

Strategy

What is the Using the gradual How to put this

learning strategy release of into action in your
extracted from the responsibility as a classroom?
promising principle guide, how do we How to monitor the
or practice? engage in strategy impact? Did it
instruction in the work?
classroom?
How do we monitor
and address
learner motivation?

Learning strategy instruction will build the capacity and efficacy of students as they
move beyond the specific learning experiences and outside of our classrooms. We
want our students to take ownership of their learning and know what to do to move
their learning forward when we are no longer their teacher. These modules support
For a video on the significance learners in
of explicitly teaching students
learning strategies, visit
Selecting the best learning tools to move their learning forward
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.
Seeking feedback about their learning

Monitoring their own learning progress

Making adjustments to their learning when necessary (Frey et al., 2018)

The final part of this playbook focuses on generating and gathering evidence of impact.
Did the promising principles and practices result in student learning? The first aspect
of evaluation is engaging in evaluative thinking and focusing on the need to generate
evidence of learning. These final modules emphasize that we should see ourselves
 Introduction 7

as evidence-generators that verify learning and challenge learners, not hold judgment
over learning. The tasks within this module will lead to the development checks for
understanding and provide opportunities for learners to respond, thus generating evi-
dence of learning. This requires that we bring the learner directly into the conversation
about their own learning. Using the evidence generated, how do we reframe the con- For a video on the importance
versation away from grades (i.e., holding judgment over them and their learning) toward of evaluating the impact of
this work, visit the companion
self-reflecting, self-monitoring, and self-evaluating their learning (e.g., one-on-one con- website at resources.corwin
ferencing, error analysis, student-led conferences, goal setting, progress monitoring). .com/howlearningworks.
The role of the teacher, then, is engaging in reciprocal and effective feedback that
focuses on both the giving and receiving of information about learning.

LEARNING WITHIN THE MODULES

Each of the modules has a specific focus, an explanation of the ideas within the module
to establish purpose (a learning intention). The module then continues by linking the
purpose of the module with specific findings from the science of learning. QR codes
and the companion website provide resources that support the process of translating
findings from the science of learning into classroom practice. In many instances, these
are seminal works in the science of how we learn or the translation of the science into
classroom practice. Don’t be alarmed if you see a citation from the 1970s. That just
means that particular study is either the first study to report a particular finding or is
the “gold standard” for all subsequent work in this area. Examples of translation will
cover primary, elementary, middle school, and high school content, skills, practices, dis-
positions, and understandings. From learning place value to writing an argumentative
essay, we seek to provide a wide range of examples to show how the principles and
practices potentially translate into our classrooms.

COLLABORATING FOR GREAT LEARNING

Each module offers you an opportunity for practice and application with a variety of
grade levels and content areas. The practice section encourages you to write your
answers and discuss them with your colleagues, if possible. Although using this book
as part of your personal learning is possible, the translation and implementation of
promising principles and practices are best done collectively with colleagues. We offer
three suggestions for collaboratively using this playbook: an accountability partner,
an instructional coach, or during your common planning or PLC+ meeting (see Fisher
et al., 2020).

Let’s start with accountability partners. The use of this playbook during common plan-
ning or your PLC+ meeting may not be feasible. You may be more comfortable partner-
ing with a colleague across the hall, in another part of the building, or in another school.
8 How Learning Works

You and this colleague can move through the modules, engage in the tasks, adapt the
promising principles or practices/interventions based on the local context of each of
your individual classrooms, and evaluate your impact. You and this colleague will serve
as accountability partners in increasing your understanding of how learning works and
leveraging your new learning in the design of your classrooms, learning experiences,
and tasks.

A second way to collaboratively work with this playbook is alongside an instructional

coach. Instructional coaches provide all of us with an outside perspective on the
teaching and learning in our classrooms. They can provide us with the right feedback
at the right time. Sitting down with an instructional coach, engaging in critical dia-
logue about how learning works, designing experiences and tasks, and then working
together to evaluate the impact on student learning is an invaluable asset to our own
professional growth.

Finally, this playbook can drive conversations during your PLC+ meeting (Fisher et al.,
2020). We believe that the work of this playbook is another tool for the work you do in
your PLC+. The use of these five guiding questions of PLC+ will keep the focus relent-
lessly on the learning of our students:

Where are we going?

Where are we now?

For a video on collaborating How do we move learning forward?

with the playbook, visit
the companion website What did we learn today?
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks. Who benefited and who did not benefit? (Fisher et al., 2020, p. 8)

In PLC+, teachers identify learning intentions and discuss ideas for instruction. They
meet to review student work and figure out if their efforts have been fruitful. They also
talk about students who need additional instruction or support for success (Figure I.5).
To revisit the earlier quote from Richard Mayer, “If you want to help people learn, it
would be useful for you to know something about how learning works” (Mayer, 2011,
p. vii). This is best done together, during our work as a community of learners.

Whether you have an accountability partner, access to an instructional coach, or

a high-functioning, high-impact PLC+, the benefit of a collaborative approach is the
opportunity to engage in critical dialogue around what learning looks like for you and
your learners.

So, without any further delay, let’s unpack how students learn!
 Introduction 9

   I.5 HOW HOW LEARNING WORKS SUPPORTS THE WORK OF PLC+

PLC Question How Learning Works Module

Where are we going? Module 1. What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom?
Module 2. What Are Different Ways to Think About Learning?

Where are we now? Module 3. What Are the Barriers to Learning?

Module 4. How Do Students Learn?

How do we move Module 5. Promising Principle 1: Motivation

learning forward? Module 6. Promising Principle 2: Attention
Module 7. Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding
Module 8. Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice
Module 9. Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load
Module 10. Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle
Module 11. Promising Principle 7: Feedback

What did we Module 12. Explicit Strategy Instruction

learn today? Module 13. Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting
Module 14. Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge
Module 15. Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing
Module 16. Learning Strategy 4: Mapping
Module 17. Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing
Module 18. Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation

Who benefited and Module 19. Generating and Gathering Evidence

who did not benefit?
 A RT
P

I n t h i s s e c ti o n:
Module 1. What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom?

Module 2. What Are Different Ways to Think About Learning?

Module 3. What Are the Barriers to Learning?

Module 4. How Do Students Learn?

11
 1

WHAT DOES LEARNING

LOOK LIKE IN YOUR
CLASSROOM?
LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA
We are learning about the characteristics of I will know we have successfully completed this
learning in my classroom. module when

•• I can describe the different aspects of learning

in my classroom.
•• I can describe what learning is in my classroom.

The first sentence of this playbook used two very important words that need further
exploring before we move forward in answering the essential question of this module.
Write those two words below in the blanks provided.

not by ____________________, but by ____________________

We enjoy etymology, the study of words. While that may not be a particularly enjoyable
pastime for you, looking into the words chance and design can provide valuable insight
and a sense of purpose for our work in this playbook. For example, the word chance
has five different definitions in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (2021a):

1. Something that happens unpredictably without discernible human intention

or observable cause
2. A situation favoring some purpose (e.g., needed a chance to relax)
3. A fielding opportunity in baseball
4. The possibility of a particular outcome in an uncertain situation
5. Risk or a raffle ticket
12
 What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom? 13

Notice that each of these definitions is associated with a lack of control or predictabil-
ity in the outcome. Even in the baseball example, the only example that seems not to
fit into our conversation depends solely on whether the batter hits the ball in your
direction. Hold on to these five definitions as we contrast them with the definitions of
the word design (Merriam-Webster, 2021b).

1. To create, fashion, execute, or construct according to plan

2. To conceive and plan out in the mind, to have as a purpose, to devise for a
specific function

3. Archaic: To indicate with a distinctive mark, sign, or name

4. To make a drawing, pattern, or sketch of, to draw the plans

For the word design, each of the four definitions implies a significant level of purpose,
intentionality, and deliberation. This contrast in perspectives on learning cannot be
overstated, especially when we are talking about the young learners in our schools and
classrooms. Whether we are talking about equivalence in Ms. Anderson’s first-grade
classroom or transferable literacy skills in Ms. Dixon’s English Language Arts block, the
learning in both of these situations cannot be left to chance.

Using the space provided below, take a moment and reflect on the learning in your classroom. What
aspect of your students’ learning is left to chance? What aspects of your students’ learning are by design?
Yes, this task can be very challenging and put us in a vulnerable position. Do not feel compelled to share
your thinking with your colleagues, but please take time to reflect on these questions. This reflection is an
important part of our work in this playbook.

What Learning in Your Classroom What Learning in Your Classroom

Is Left to Chance? Occurs by Design?
14 Module 1

Please mark the previous page, as we will return to this reflection as we move into
subsequent modules.
online
resources
Throughout the next several modules, we aim to move those examples of learning by
For more resources related chance and transition them to learning by design. The first step in this transition is to
to learning by chance, visit discover and develop a definition of what learning looks like in your classroom. This
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ definition will serve as the plan, drawing, or sketch (Merriam-Webster, 2021b) necessary
howlearningworks. to design.

A DEFINITION OF LEARNING
If you surveyed 100 individuals and asked them what is meant by learning, you
would likely get 100 different answers. However, those 100 answers are likely variations
of beliefs about learning that could be organized into broader categories: behavior-
ism, cognitive learning theory, and constructivism (Schunk, 2019). For example, some
believe that individuals learn through behavioral modification (see Figure 1.1).

  1.1 SUMMARY OF THREE MAJOR LEARNING THEORIES

Learning is . . . The learner . . .

Behaviorism . . . changing the . . . is passive and the

probability that a specific learning comes solely from
behavioral outcome will the teacher as the source.
occur by reinforcing or In other words, they are an
shaping behavior with a empty vessel that must be
stimulus and response. filled.

Cognitive . . . knowledge stored in . . . is actively processing,

the cognitive architecture organizing, and
of the learner—memory— synthesizing learning, but
through processing, the learning is considered
organizing, and independent of the learner.
synthesizing learning.

Constructivism . . . based on experiences . . . is an active participant,

and the construction of constructing their own
a personal interpretation knowledge through
of the world based on collaboration, problem
these experiences and solving, and scaffolding.
interactions.

Source: Adapted from Schunk (2019).

 What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom? 15

Those who approach learning from a behavioral perspective might describe learning
as linking some stimulus, a specific type of mathematics problem, to a specific response,
the algorithm for solving that problem. Likewise, a specific request to line up for lunch
results in specific behaviors that have been reinforced over time.

If you take a cognitive perspective, you might respond that learning is the encod-
ing and storing of information in memory. Through problem solving, deep processing,
exploring, organizing, and synthesizing information, learners engage in active reading
and use text features to make meaning of their reading. And if you are a constructiv-
ist, you might describe learning as the result of your students building their own per-
sonal interpretation of the world based on their experiences and interaction. In other
words, learners construct their understanding of polygons in geometry, horizon lines
and perspective in art, and spatial awareness in physical education through their active
experiences.

Take a moment and develop your own definition of learning. What is meant by learning? Jot down your
ideas and/or the ideas of your colleagues in the space below.
16 Module 1

If the previous task was challenging for you and your colleagues, you are not alone. You
and your colleagues likely found it difficult to articulate learning as solely behavioral,
cognitive, or constructive. Thinking through our school day, there are clear examples
where stimulus-response learning was utilized and effective. We all have examples
when cognitive processing was the focus and your students successfully organized
and synthesized knowledge. Finally, you can think of times where your students were
provided opportunities to construct personal meaning from these opportunities.

As teachers, devoting large amounts of time to unpacking and applying theories of

learning is not only unhelpful but also does not reflect the complex and multidimen-
sional nature of the learning in our classrooms. Learning is not behavioral, cognitive,
or constructive. It’s all three of these things, and more. Return to the introduction of
this playbook and review the list you generated around the learning in Ms. Anderson’s
classroom. Learning is highly contextualized, meaning that the “where” of the learning
and “who” is involved in that learning matters. Developing a universal view of learning
is not going to result in great learning by design. Instead, we should develop a defini-
tion of what learning looks like in our own classrooms, for our learners. Using the tem-
online
resources plate on the next page, gather evidence of how your own students feel about learning
For a Learning Survey and themselves as a learner. This will be additional information that will allow us to see
Template, visit the “who” is learning in our classroom and contextualize our definition of learning in the
companion website at
resources.corwin.com/ classroom. By the way, you can give this survey multiple times throughout the semester
howlearningworks. or year to see if your students change how they feel and what they think about learning.
 What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom? 17

CONCEPTIONS OF LEARNING SURVEY

Directions: This survey is to gather information about how you see yourself as a learner and what you think about
learning. Use the scales to mark what best represents your response to each statement.

I think . . .

  1. Learning is when I am taught something I did not know

before. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   2. Learning is taking in as many facts as possible.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   3. When someone gives me new information, I feel like I am

learning. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   4. Learning helps me understand and apply ideas.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   5. Learning means I can talk about something in different

ways. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   6. When something stays in my head, I know I have really

learned it. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

     7. If I have learned something, it means that I can remember

that information whenever I want to or need it. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   8. I should be able to remember what I have learned at a later

date. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

   9. I have really learned something when I can remember it at a

later date. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

10. When I have learned something, I know how to use it in

other situations. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

11. If I know something well, I can use the information if the

need arises. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

12. Learning is making sense out of new information and ways

of doing things. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

13. I know I have learned something when I can explain it to

someone else. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

14. Learning is finding out what things really mean.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

15. Learning is difficult but important.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

(Continued)
18 Module 1

(Continued)
16. Even when something I am learning is difficult, I must
concentrate and keep trying. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

17. Learning and studying must be done whether I like it or not.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

18. Learning has helped me widen my views about life.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

19. Learning changes my way of thinking.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

20. By learning, I look at life in new ways.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

21. Learning means I have found new ways to look at things.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

22. Increased knowledge helps me become a better person.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

23. I use learning to develop myself as a person.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

24. When I learn, I think I can change as a person.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

25. Learning is necessary to help me improve as a person.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

26. I don’t think I will ever stop learning.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

27. I learn a lot from talking to other people.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

28. Learning is gaining knowledge through daily experiences.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

29. Learning is knowing how to get along with different kinds of

people. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

30. Learning is not only studying at school but also knowing

how to be considerate of others. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

31. Learning is the development of common sense in order to

become a better member of society. Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

32. Learning is developing good relationships.

Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly
Agree Disagree

Source: Fisher et al. (2019).

 What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom? 19

So, let’s try this again. Rather than developing an answer to the question What is meant by learning?
develop a more contextualized description of learning in your classroom. Using the learning survey
completed by your students as additional evidence, what does learning look like in your classroom? Be
specific. If necessary, select an upcoming unit or topic and use that specific context to describe what
learning looks like in your classroom.

As we wrap up our first module, our time devoted to discovering and developing a online
resources
definition of what learning looks like in the context of our classrooms will help us better
For more resources related
focus on the durable, flexible, and usable learning we strive for in our students. While to assessment-capable
there are many theories about learning, the contextualized nature of our classrooms visible learners, visit
requires that we devote time to articulating what learning is in Room 30, the gymna- the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
sium, the science laboratory, or the writing center. Then, and only then, can we create, howlearningworks.
fashion, and execute great learning according to plan—by design. In the next module,
we will revisit your answer to the question What is meant by learning? and look at the
different types of learning encompassed by your answer.

Oh, one last request. Using the blank pie chart on the next page, color in the percent-
age that reflects your belief about the responsibility for learning that falls to the teacher
and the percentage of responsibility for learning that falls to the student. If possible, use
two different colors. For example, you may believe that 90% of the responsibility falls
to the teacher and 10% falls to the learner, so your chart might look like the following.
20 Module 1

10ƒ

90ƒ

Teacher Student

We will revisit this gauge several times over the remaining modules. For now, just color
in and label your initial response below.
 What Does Learning Look Like in Your Classroom? 21

Checks for Understanding

Throughout the modules of this playbook, we want to provide multiple opportunities
to model strategies that leverage the science of learning. One example of these strat-
egies is a Know-Show Chart. The column on the left contains the success criteria from
the beginning of this module except rephrased in the form of a question. The column on
the right is for you to respond to those questions. Generate your responses to provide
examples to support your responses that “show what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe the

different aspects
of learning in my
classroom?

Can I describe what

learning is in my
classroom?
 2

WHAT ARE DIFFERENT

WAYS TO THINK ABOUT
LEARNING?
LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA
We are learning about specific components of the I will know we have successfully completed this
learning process. module when

•• I can compare and contrast the different

components of learning in my classroom:
declarative, procedural, and conditional
knowledge.
•• I can apply the process for learning to each
component of that learning in my classroom.

Up to this point, we have devoted significant time to uncovering explicit and implicit
learning in our classrooms (flip back to pages 1 and 2 in the introduction) and articulat-
ing what learning looks like in our individual classrooms (flip back to pages 13 and 15 in
Module 1). We will spend one more module deconstructing what is meant by learning
before diving into how students learn so that we can better design learning experiences
that align with how learning works. To engage in the design of learning experiences
that translate the science of how we learn into promising principles and practices, we
must come to an understanding of learning in our local context—our own classroom
with our learners. Returning to what learning looks like in your individual classroom (see
pages 13 and 15), we need to look more closely at the different ways of thinking about
that learning. Learning in our classrooms can be subdivided into declarative, proce-
dural, and conditional knowledge. Before diving deeper into each of these subdivi-
sions, let’s start with an experiment.

22
 What Are Different Ways to Think About Learning? 23

How would you respond to the following question?

Do you know your multiplication facts? Circle your answer.

Yes           No

Odds are, you quickly circled yes, as you truly feel both comfortable and confident with your multiplication
facts. Now consider this next question:

Why do you feel both comfortable and confident?

Our responses to the above question, and quite likely yours as well, communicate early experiences in our
mathematics learning filled with timed drills or quizzes asking us to recall our 8’s tables or 7’s tables. We
may even have a song for the 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s. Now, try this next question:

What is 7 × 8? Show all of your thinking and work.

24 Module 2

The previous series of questions bring to light the three different types of knowledge:
declarative, procedural, and conditional. When looking specifically at 7 × 8, many of us
likely paused and engaged in a series of internal strategies that lead us to the answer
of 56. 56 was not an immediate answer and required some additional processing time.
In fact, many of us likely hesitated in a way that we did not hesitate when originally
asked “Do you know your multiplication facts?” For example, you may have started with
8 × 5 being equivalent to 40 and 8 × 2 being equivalent to 16. Then, adding them together
equals 56. Others might have utilized tally marks to determine the final answer, while
others used repeated addition to get to 56. Here’s the point: while 7 × 8 first appears as a
simple fact, there are other types of knowledge involved in this calculation—many that we
overlooked with the initial question of simply knowing our multiplication facts.

THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF KNOWLEDGE

Learning in our classrooms can be subdivided into declarative, procedural, and condi-
tional knowledge.

LEARNING IN OUR Declarative knowledge is defined as the facts, figures, and details about a subject or
CLASSROOMS CAN content area. Declarative knowledge is the acquisition, consolidation, and storage of
BE SUBDIVIDED terminology, elements, theories, models, structures, or principles. In third-grade social
studies, students learning that government exists at the community, state, and national
INTO DECLARATIVE,
levels must know the definitions of community, laws, and government. From there, they
PROCEDURAL, AND
develop big ideas or principles that they can declare. For example, the purpose of laws
CONDITIONAL is to keep people safe and maintain order.
KNOWLEDGE.
Take a moment and return to the above example related to multiplication facts and 7 × 8.
What aspects of the previous experiments are examples of declarative knowledge?

Procedural knowledge is all about knowing “how.” In other words, procedural knowl-
edge refers to the skills, processes, and algorithms associated with a subject or content
area. Often represented as a series of steps, procedural knowledge requires learn-
ers to know when to apply specific skills, processes, and algorithms. Declarative and
procedural knowledge are strongly linked together. For example, in solving systems
of equations, learners must first know what systems of equations are and what their
solutions represent or mean. That is declarative. Then, they must learn the different
approaches, or procedures, for solving systems of equations (e.g., elimination, substi-
tution, and graphing).

Take a moment and return to the above example related to multiplication facts and 7 × 8.
What aspects of the previous experiment are examples of procedural knowledge?

And finally, conditional knowledge is knowing why and when to use declarative and
procedural knowledge and when to pull from declarative knowledge and procedural
knowledge to engage in new learning. Let’s return to the previous example used in our
defining of procedural knowledge. When acquiring, consolidating, and storing procedural
 What Are Different Ways to Think About Learning? 25

knowledge about solving systems of equations, learners will begin to ­associate the
procedures with specific characteristics of systems of equations (e.g., a constant in front
of one variable and not the other or the same constant in both equations are equal). This
association will help them build fluency in knowing when to use certain procedures for
solving systems of equations and why one approach is more efficient than another.

Take one last look at the example related to multiplication facts and 7 × 8. What aspects online
resources
of the previous experiment are examples of conditional knowledge?
For more resources related
The table below shows several examples of learning intentions. Using the space provided, to meta-cognition, visit
the companion website
identify the declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge that may be associated at resources.corwin.com/
with the learning intention in the first column. The first one is provided as an example. howlearningworks.

Learning Intention Declarative Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Conditional Knowledge

Middle Grades Science: What is an atom? How do I find the number What is the relationship
We are learning that the of protons and electrons in between valence electrons
What particles make up an
properties of an atom are an atom? and how atoms participate
atom?
based on the number and in chemical bonding?
How do I calculate the
arrangement of subatomic How are these particles
number of neutrons? What impact do the
particles. arranged in an atom?
arrangement and number
How do subatomic particles of subatomic particles have
interact? on the properties of an
atom?

Personal Finance:
We are learning about
the features of a market
economy.

Elementary Language Arts

(Reading): We are learning
about the similarities and
differences between two
fictional texts.

(Continued)
26 Module 2

(Continued)

Learning Intention Declarative Knowledge Procedural Knowledge Conditional Knowledge

High School Physical

Education: We are learning
how movement is created,
directed, and stabilized in
my lifetime fitness activities.

Elementary Visual Arts:

We are learning about the
influence of culture on art.

Elementary Character
Education: We are learning
about perseverance in
meeting our goals.

Elementary Language Arts

(Writing): We are learning
about narrative writing.

High School World History:

We are learning about the
conditions that lead to
Persia developing into the
largest empire in the world.
 What Are Different Ways to Think About Learning? 27

Before moving on, please return to your contextualized description of learning in

your classroom from Module 1. Using different colors of pens, pencils, or highlighters,
identify what in your description is declarative, procedural, or contextual. Also, now
is the time to edit or revise your description. Now that you have had time to process
Module 1, you may have details to add to your original description.

THREE PARTS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS

Developing declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge does not occur in a
single learning experience or through the completion of a single task. Again, learning is
a process. While much attention has been given to describing this process (i.e., a blank
slate, canvas, or computer), we find the best way to think about the learning process in
our classrooms is to break the process down into three buckets (see Figure 2.1).

  2.1 THREE PARTS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS

Acquisition Consolidation Storage

Source: Adapted from Mayer (2011). Image source: alijoy313/pixabay.com

Using the spaces below, come up with your own definition and description of each part
of the learning process. When you can, provide specific examples from your classroom.

Definition or Description Examples From Your Classroom

Acquisition

Consolidation

Storage
28 Module 2

Keep this last task within reach. We will return to your definitions and descriptions
several times over the next several modules to make edits and revisions. In addition, we
will add more examples to the third column. For now, your responses will springboard
us into the next module.

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you did in the
previous module, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I compare and

contrast the different
components of learning
in my classroom:
declarative, procedural,
and conditional
knowledge?

Can I apply the process

for learning to each
component of that
learning in my classroom?

Now that we have a clear picture of what learning looks like in our classrooms, the
different types (i.e., declarative, procedural, and conditional), and that learning is a pro-
cess (i.e., acquisition, consolidation, and storage), we will now look at barriers to each
part of the learning process. In Module 3 we will consider this question: What gets in the
way of learning acquisition, consolidation, and storage?
 3

WHAT ARE THE

BARRIERS TO
LEARNING?
LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA
We are learning about challenges to the I will know we have successfully completed this
acquisition, consolidation, and storage of learning. module when

•• I can describe the different challenges to

learning.
•• I can recognize challenges to learning in my
classroom using student data.
•• I can hypothesize approaches to overcoming
the challenges to learning in my classroom.

One way of thinking about the learning process is to break the process down into three
main parts. Take a moment and write those three main parts, one on each of the buckets
in Figure 3.1.

  3.1 THREE PARTS OF THE LEARNING PROCESS

Source: Adapted from Mayer (2011). Image source: alijoy313/pixabay.com

29
30 Module 3

ACQUISITION
When our students acquire new learning, they gain new content, skills, and understand-
ings across all domains of learning. In science, this acquisition includes disciplinary
core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts (NGSS Lead
States, 2013). In mathematics, this acquisition includes concepts, procedures, and the
application of concepts and thinking (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics,
2014). In the visual arts, this includes acquiring critical thinking skills in the analysis,
interpretation, and evaluation of the work of self and others (Virginia Department of
Education, 2020). At the same time, learners acquire content, skills, and understand-
ings related to language, social-emotional, and behavioral learning. For example, learn-
ers must acquire what it means to appropriately engage in a “morning meeting” and
acquire the appropriate means for social interacting and relating to their peers.

There are several key points related to the acquisition part of the learning process that
we want to emphasize:

Learning acquisition is always happening, unconsciously or consciously.

Flip back to page 13 in Module 1. Learning by chance is unconscious
acquisition.
In our classrooms, we strive for formalized learning through the design
and implementation of learning experiences and tasks—not by chance,
but by design. Again, returning to page 13 in Module 1, learning by
design is conscious acquisition.
There are many factors that influence acquisition, some internal and
some external. We will address internal factors in this module and the
external factors in subsequent modules.
The acquisition of learning requires effective feedback. Learners must
have the opportunity to engage in trial and error to acquire content,
skills, and understandings.

Make a list of internal factors that influence acquisition. These are factors related to inner strengths
or challenges in learners. Make a second list of external factors. These are factors within the learning
environment and not the inner strengths or challenges in learners.

Internal Factors External Factors

 What Are the Barriers to Learning? 31

Take a moment and return to the closing task in the previous module. Edit and revise
your definition, description, and examples of acquisition.

CONSOLIDATION
Learning takes time. After the initial acquisition of learning, our students need time
to actively process this newly acquired content, skills, and understandings, as well
as make meaning of their learning. For our classrooms, this involves us providing
scaffolded learning experiences or tasks. These scaffolds should specifically align with
the internal and external factors that influenced the initial acquisition of the learning.
For example, if motivation was one of the internal factors you listed on the previous
page, then consolidation should continue to scaffold or provide approaches to keep a
learner motivated in the learning. How do we motivate learners to engage in science
content, utilize mathematical processes, and apply critical thinking skills in the analysis
of works of art?

Scaffolds are only scaffolds if they are withdrawn over time to promote self-regulated
learning. Thus, with consolidation, these scaffolds should eventually be removed as
learners internalize the content, skills, and understandings and are able to extend,
apply, and transfer their learning.

Return to the previous lists of internal and external factors that influence learning acquisition. What role do
these factors play in consolidating learning?
32 Module 3

Take a moment and return to the closing task in the previous module. Edit and revise
your definition, description, and examples of consolidation.

STORAGE
Effective acquisition and consolidation lead to learning storage. Often referred to as
long-term storage, this is when the content, skills, and understandings are internalized
and available for retrieval to then extend, apply, and transfer to other contexts. While
initial acquisition and the subsequent consolidation are important, moving this learning
to long-term storage is critical in extending, applying, and transferring learning. Now,
to be clear, this does not mean that the content, skills, and understandings are perma-
nently available for retrieval once storage occurs. Over time, there must be continued
maintenance to support long-term storage. Think back to something that you acquired,
consolidated, and stored. If enough time passes between the last retrieval of this learn-
ing from long-term storage, this learning may fade away.

Let’s return to previous examples. Just because a learner has consolidated his or her
learning about human impact on ecosystems does not immediately imply that he or she
will, without intermittent retrieval and application of this consolidation. In mathematics,
while solving systems of linear inequalities was at one time retrievable and available for
transfer in solving, over time this learning is transient. If the critical thinking skills in the
analysis, interpretation, and evaluation of the work of self and others are left alone for
too long, these skills will need to be re-learned. And finally, appropriately engaging in
social interactions, well, by the very nature of schools and life, is likely to stick around.

Return to the previous lists of internal and external factors that influence learning acquisition. What role do
these factors play in long-term storage?
 What Are the Barriers to Learning? 33

Take a moment and return to the closing task in the previous module. Edit and revise
your definition, description, and examples of storage. Now, let’s look at the factors influ-
encing each of these parts of the learning process, in particular, the barriers to success-
ful acquisition, consolidation, and storage.

CHALLENGES TO LEARNING BY DESIGN

In November 2020, Stephen Chew and his colleague William Cerbin compiled 20 years
of research on teaching and learning by design, not by chance. Although they do not
online
use the specific terminology of design and chance, they assert that the goal of peda- resources
gogical research is to amplify student learning through effective teaching. Yet, as we
For more resources related
pointed out in the introduction of this playbook, learning is complex, multidimensional, to cognitive challenges,
and requires the careful design of learning experiences that result in both the learning visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
of these ideas and the transfer of this learning to new contexts. To successfully design
howlearningworks.
these learning experiences, we have to know who our learners are so that we can make
the necessary adaptations based on the local context of our classrooms. This means
that we must be aware of the specific challenges to learning by design. The result of
Chew and Cerbin’s compilation of research are nine specific challenges (see Figure 3.2).

3.2 OVERVIEW OF NINE SPECIFIC CHALLENGES TO LEARNING BY DESIGN

Challenge Description

Student Mindframes This refers to our learners’ beliefs, attitudes, or dispositions about topics, content, or
subject matter.

Meta-Cognitive Skills This challenge refers to the capacity of our learners to self-monitor, self-reflect, and
and Self-Regulation self-evaluate their knowledge, skills, and understandings.

Student Fear How our learners feel about the classroom and content heavily influences their perception
of learning experiences and tasks.

Insufficient Prior When our learners arrive in our classrooms with limited background knowledge, prior
Knowledge knowledge, and previous experiences, they may struggle in all three parts of learning.

Misconceptions This challenge comes from learners having prior beliefs about specific topics, content, or
subject matter that are inaccurate or incomplete.

Ineffective Learning Challenges to learning can come from our learners relying on strategies that simply do not
Strategies support the acquisition, consolidation, and storage of learning. These ineffective learning
strategies create an illusion of learning.

Low Potential for Transfer Learners may not have the capacity, yet, to transfer content, skills, and understandings.

Selective Attention Challenges to learning may come from learners multitasking or not focusing on the
Constraints relevant information or focusing only on part of the relevant information.

Working Memory Capacity The challenge refers to the amount of mental effort available to learners and the limited
capacity in their work memory. Too much information or information that is too complex
will overwhelm learners.

Source: Adapted from Chew and Cerbin (2020).

34 Module 3

There are three major points that we want to make sure are highlighted in our work in
this playbook:

1. The nine challenges listed in Figure 3.2, in no particular order, can

undermine the acquisition, consolidation, and storage of learning.
2. Our role in learning by design, not by chance, requires us to gather evidence
about our learners with regard to these nine challenges. We must then use
that evidence to create, fashion, and execute great learning according to
plan—by design.
3. Student learning is not solely on the shoulders of the teacher, nor are these
challenges so great that teaching and learning are not possible. Learners
should aim to find the best way to learn from their teacher.
4. Using the blank pie chart below, color in the percentage that reflects your
belief about the responsibility for learning that falls to the teacher and the
percentage of responsibility for learning that falls to the student. If possible,
use two different colors. For example, you may believe that 90% of the
responsibility falls to the teacher and 10% falls to the learner.

Let’s revisit your pie chart from Module 1.

In Module 1, you were asked to color in the
percentage that reflects your belief about
the responsibility for learning that falls to the
teacher and the percentage of responsibility
for learning that falls to the student. Has your
belief changed as a result of your work in this
playbook? If so, color in the percentages that
reflect your current thinking. If not, simply
replicate your response from Module 1.

As we close out this module, let’s review where we are at this point in learning by
design. Learning by design requires that we must make adaptations to principles or
practices from the science of learning that reflect the local context of the classroom and
then generate evidence that allows both us and our learners to determine if learning
has occurred. These adaptations must reflect challenges to learning, those nine chal-
lenges uncovered by Chew and Cerbin (2020). The final task of this module is to think
about and plan how you will generate and gather evidence from your learners about
these challenges. How will you know which challenges you and your students must
address as you strive to move learning forward in your classroom?
 What Are the Barriers to Learning? 35

Use the space provided to plan how you will generate and gather evidence for each
challenge. Some examples are provided to get your thinking started.

Challenge Approaches for Generating and Gathering Evidence

Student Mindframes Develop an interest survey, discuss student responses during one-on-one
conferences.

Meta-Cognitive Skills and Self-Regulation

Student Fear

Insufficient Prior Knowledge

Misconceptions

Ineffective Learning Strategies Interview students about their “favorite” study strategy.

Low Potential for Transfer

Selective Attention Constraints

Working Memory Capacity Student observation with various leveled problems or tasks.
36 Module 3

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you did in the
previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe the

different challenges to
learning?

Can I recognize
challenges to learning
in my classroom using
student data?

Can I hypothesize
approaches to overcoming
the challenges to learning
in my classroom?

Now, let’s take what we have learned about learning and leverage that to move learning
forward in our students.
 4

HOW DO STUDENTS
LEARN?
LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA
We are learning about the promising principles and I will know we have successfully completed this
practices of learning. module when

•• I can self-evaluate my beliefs about how my

students learn.
•• I can explain the promising principles and
practices of how my students learn.
•• I can hypothesize approaches to overcoming
the challenges to learning in my classroom.

Everyone has beliefs about how we learn and therefore how students learn. These
beliefs come from our perceptions, interpretations, and how we make meaning of our
past learning experiences. In addition, we are bombarded by images and statements
from pop culture about learning. In many cases, these images and statements are
attempting to convince us to download an app, take a supplement, or purchase an
“instant fix” product to help our baby read or do math. What do you believe about how
your students learn?

37
38 Module 4

In the first few modules of this playbook, we described what learning looked like in our classrooms. Now,
use the space provided and describe how students learn in your classroom with your students. At this
point, we are transitioning from what to how in the playbook.

In 2008, David McCabe and his colleague Alan Castel discovered the extent to which
we hold on to our beliefs about learning and the influence of perceptions and inter-
pretations on shaping those beliefs. Without a doubt or much disagreement, we can
safely say that our brain is at the center of the learning process. Regardless of your
particular orientation or theory about learning (see page 14 in Module 1), you can’t talk
about learning without referencing your brain. The brain is highly involved. However,
online this hyper focus on the brain can lead us to believe things about learning that may not
resources
actually be accurate. That is what McCabe and Castel (2008) found:
For more resources related
to brain images, visit the
companion website at Presenting brain images with articles summarizing cognitive neuroscience
resources.corwin.com/ research resulted in higher ratings of scientific reasoning for arguments
howlearningworks. made in those articles, as compared to articles accompanied by bar graphs,
a topographical map of brain activation, or no image. These data lend
support to the notion that part of the fascination, and the credibility, of brain
imaging research lies in the persuasive power of the actual brain images
themselves. (p. 343)

And that is not even the best part of the research. The most shocking finding was that
this phenomenon, an unchecked focus on the brain, worked for fictional neuroscience
articles that were full of errors in the methodology, analysis, and conclusions of the
article. That’s right, junk articles with images of the brain were rated as more credible
than articles that did not have images of the brain but instead had bar graphs or topo-
graphical maps. So, we have added images of brains to this playbook to enhance your
perception of our credibility. Just kidding!

LEARNING MYTHS
Just as our students’ misconceptions about learning pose challenges to their learning
progress, our beliefs and misconceptions about how students learn can challenge our
capacity to create, fashion, and execute great learning by design. Researchers have
 How Do Students Learn? 39

accumulated a list of beliefs and misconceptions about learning that are not supported
by research and may actually interfere with our support of learning acquisition, con-
solidation, and long-term storage. Take a look at the following list of statements. First,
simply read the statements to yourself. Then, go back and mark whether you think the
statement is True or False.

1. We use our brains 24 hours a day. True False

2. It is best for children to learn their native language before a second language is True False
learned.

3. Boys have bigger brains than girls, on average. True False

4. If students do not drink sufficient amounts of water, their brains shrink. True False

5. When a brain region is damaged, other parts of the brain can take up its function. True False

6. We only use 10% of our brain. True False

7. The left and right hemispheres of the brain work together. True False

8. Some of us are “left-brained” and some are “right-brained” and this helps explains True False
differences in how we learn.

9. The brains of boys and girls develop at different rates. True False

10. Brain development has finished by the time children reach puberty. True False

11. There are specific periods in childhood after which certain things can no longer True False
be learned.

12. Information is stored in the brain in networks of cells distributed throughout the brain. True False

13. Learning is due to the addition of new cells to the brain. True False

14. Individuals learn better when they receive information in their preferred learning style True False
(e.g., auditory, visual, kinesthetic).

15. Learning occurs through changes to the connections between brain cells. True False

16. Academic achievement can be negatively impacted by skipping breakfast. True False

17. A common sign of dyslexia is seeing letters backward. True False

18. Normal development of the human brain involves the birth and death of brain cells. True False

19. Mental capacity is genetic and cannot be changed by the environment or experience. True False

20. Vigorous exercise can improve mental function. True False

21. Children must be exposed to an enriched environment from birth to three years or they True False
will lose learning capacities permanently.

22. Children are less attentive after consuming sugary drinks and/or snacks. True False

(Continued)
40 Module 4

(Continued)

23. Circadian rhythms (“body-clock”) shift during adolescence, causing students to be tired True False
during the first lessons of the school day.

24. Exercises that rehearse coordination of motor-perception skills can improve literacy True False
skills.

25. Extended rehearsal of some mental processes can change the structure and function True False
of some parts of the brain.

26. Children have learning styles that are dominated by particular senses (i.e., seeing, True False
hearing, touch).

27. Learning problems associated with developmental differences in brain function cannot True False
be improved by education.

28. Production of new connections in the brain can continue into old age. True False

29. Short bouts of motor coordination exercises can improve integration of left and right True False
hemisphere brain function.

30. There are specific periods in childhood when it’s easier to learn certain things. True False

31. When we sleep, the brain shuts down. True False

32. Listening to classical music increases children’s reasoning ability. True False

Source: Dekker et al. (2012).

To check your answers, visit the companion website to access the article describing
neuromyths and whether each of the above statements was True or False.

THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING

As we check our own beliefs about learning, how do we get past the allure of brain
online
images and our own misconceptions about learning? Having a clear understanding of
resources
how our students learn is both important and necessary if we are to amplify learning by
For more resources related design and not leave learning to chance. Plus, unless you have a CT scanner or fMRI
to learning myths, visit machine in the back of your classroom, neuroscience research is not going to be much
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ help in that design.
howlearningworks.
Over the past 100 years, cognitive scientists have accumulated a robust understanding
of how we learn, including how students learn. This science of learning offers promising
principles or practices that may work in our classrooms.
 How Do Students Learn? 41

Take a moment and use an electronic device to look up “the science of learning.” Using the space
provided, summarize the definition of the science of learning.

And as we have said in the introduction to this playbook, we must make ad________s
to these principles or practices that reflect the lo__l c_____t of the classroom and
then generate ev_____e that allows both us and our learners to determine if learning
has occurred. Those promising principles or practices relate to the following significant
areas from the science of learning:

1. Motivation
2. Attention
3. Elaborate Encoding
4. Retrieval and Practice
5. Cognitive Load
6. Productive Struggle
7. Feedback
42 Module 4

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I self-evaluate my
beliefs about how my
students learn?

Can I explain the

promising principles
and practices of how my
students learn?

Can I hypothesize
approaches to
overcoming the
challenges to learning in
my classroom?

Now, let’s start with motivation.

 A RT
P

II

In t h i s s e c t i o n :
Module 5. Promising Principle 1: Motivation

Module 6. Promising Principle 2: Attention

Module 7. Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding

Module 8. Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice

Module 9. Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load

Module 10. Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle

Module 11. Promising Principle 7: Feedback

43
 5

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 1:
MOTIVATION
As we move into our first promising principle or practice derived from the science of
learning, we want to recall how we plan on tackling each of these ideas and translat-
ing them to our own classrooms (see Figure 5.1).

   A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND

5.1
MOTIVATION INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle or In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

Practice: Motivation

What is What does this How do I translate

motivation? look like in the research on
What does the preK–12 motivation into my
research say classrooms? own classroom?
about motivation How will I know
in learning? that this promising
principle or
practice had an
impact on my
learners?

In this module, along with Modules 6–11, we will take an overview of the research on
motivation and the science of learning. From there, we will look at specific examples of
how classrooms have translated this research into promising principles and practices
with a close look at how classrooms have monitored the impact of these principles
and practices on student learning. Then, we will develop ways to translate research on
motivation into the local context of our own, individual classrooms.

44
 Promising Principle 1: Motivation 45

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the role of motivation in my I will know we have successfully completed this
students’ investment in learning. module when

•• I can describe what is meant by motivation.

•• I can explain the different ways of thinking about
motivation in my classroom.
•• I can develop specific ways to apply research on
motivation into my classroom and evaluate the
impact of this application.

WHAT IS MOTIVATION?
Motivation is an overarching term that refers to the reason or reasons associated with
a particular action. In classrooms, this refers to the general desire of learners to engage
in the learning experiences or tasks. This may also reflect the willingness of learners to
uphold the expectations for being a member of the classroom learning community (e.g.,
norms and processes for social interactions, moving from one area of the classroom or
building to another). Motivation is an essential component of the science of how we
learn simply because the learning expected in our classrooms will only move forward if
learners have the desire or willingness to commit the necessary effort to acquire, con-
solidate, and store declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge.

What motivates your learners? Use the space provided to develop a list or description of what motivates
your students in your classroom.
46 Module 5

So, when it comes to motivating students to engage in learning about equivalence,

over-hand throwing, figurative language, right triangle trigonometry, or soil chemistry,
there are four components that manifest as the reasons, desires, and willingness to
exert the effort necessary for learning. These four components are personal, activated,
energized, and directed (see Figure 5.2).

5.2 THE FOUR COMPONENTS OF MOTIVATION

. . . goal-
. . . that directed
Motivation
initiates or . . . and fosters behavior
occurs within
instigates and maintains aimed at
a student
behavior (energized) . . . accomplishing
(personal) . . .
(activated) . . . a goal
(directed).

Source: Adapted from Mayer (2011).

The research on motivation brings forward several findings that will help us translate
research from the science of learning into a promising principle or practice:

1. Interest/Attitude (Effect Size = 0.46). Learners show increased motivation in

putting forth effort in the acquisition, consolidation, and storage of learning
when that learning is of interest to them and toward which they have a posi-
tive attitude (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).
2. Self-Efficacy (Effect Size = 0.66). Learners are motivated by the belief that
their efforts in learning will pay off or provide some immediate or long-term
benefit to them (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).
3. Effort-Based Attributions/Student Expectations (Effect Size = 0.77). If
learners are able to link their efforts in learning to specific outcomes, both
positive and negative, they are more likely to put forth effort in succeeding in
their learning (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).
4. Deep Motivation (Effect Size = 0.57). Deep motivation occurs when our
learners want to develop competency, mastery, and deeper understanding
to have a fuller understanding of overall content, skills, and understandings
(Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).
5. Cooperative Learning (Effect Size = 0.46). A pedagogical strategy through
which two or more learners collaborate to achieve a common goal. Typically,
online cooperative learning programs seek to foster positive interdependence
resources
through face-to-face interactions, hold individual group members accountable
For more resources related for the collective project, and develop interpersonal skills among learners
to motivation, visit
the companion website (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.
6. Prior Achievement/Success (Effect Size = 0.59). As learners have mastery
experiences or experience success in a specific area, their motivation to
further engage and persist in future learning experiences or tasks goes
up. Prior achievement and success help builds learners’ efficacy, raise
expectations, and improve their overall attitude and dispositions toward
learning (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).
 Promising Principle 1: Motivation 47

Return to the list or description of what motivates the students in your classroom. Organize that list
based on the findings on the facing page. Which ones are examples of interest/attitude? Self-efficacy?
Expectations or deep motivation? What about cooperative learning? Use the space to organize your
thinking.

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
Before we dive into specific examples, we want to take a moment and talk about the PROMISING
motivation for extracting promising principles or practices from the science of learning.
PRINCIPLES AND
Promising principles and practices are often sought because of a recognized problem
PRACTICES ARE
of practice. Consider the following problems of practice identified by teachers we have
the pleasure of interacting with on a regular basis: OFTEN SOUGHT
BECAUSE OF A
RECOGNIZED
“My learners never remember the basic formulas for find the area and
PROBLEM OF
perimeter of irregular polygons.”
PRACTICE.
“My students always forget to cite evidence from the text when
responding to text-based questions.”

“When students are involved in physical activity, I am always reminding

them of how to operate in a safe space.”

“They never study. I can barely even get them to ask questions before
the test.”
48 Module 5

“My students don’t seem to want to talk. When I ask them to engage in a
think-pair-share, they so often sit in silence and wait for time to pass.”
“My high schoolers won’t read. I can ask them to read a novel, but they
find every way possible to avoid having to read it.”
“My learners view themselves as ‘bad at art.’ This way of thinking
interferes with their willingness to devote time and effort to their art
projects. They rush through tasks and attribute their poor performance
to their belief that they are ‘bad at art.’”

Each of the above examples indicates a particular challenge or problem in the class-
room that would motivate you and me to actively seek to solve. Thus, we will dig into
the science of learning and look for possible findings that can be translated into prac-
tice and improved learning outcomes.

Take a moment and return to the examples of problems of practice. Circle, highlight, or
underline the problems of practice that you believe are linked to motivation. The hard part
is that many of these could be linked to motivation, while also being linked to other chal-
lenges (e.g., fear, misconceptions, prior knowledge, selective attention, or working mem-
ory). That is the beauty of this playbook: in addition to unpacking these promising principles
and practices, we will devote time to developing ways of measuring our impact. In other
words, was the challenge or problem of practice really about motivation, or something else?
If it was something else, we will have to dig further and try other promising practices. But for
now, let’s look at some examples of how research on motivation and the science of learning
can be extracted and applied to the problems of practice listed above (see Figure 5.3).

 XTRACTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

E
5.3
FROM MOTIVATION RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM

Potential Promising Ways to Evaluate Link to the Research on

Problem of Practice
Principle or Practice the Impact the Science of Learning

“My learners never Rather than pure Student work samples Deep Motivation
remember the basic memorization, the teacher before and after the
formulas for find the area taught learners how to derive intervention; did the
and perimeter of irregular the formulas so that they had learners provide more
polygons.” a deep understanding of not details in their work or
just what the formulas were, explanations of their work?
but why they were what
they were.

“My students always forget To motivate learners to In-class tasks and exit Cooperative Learning
to cite evidence from the commit more effort to tickets; did learners With Peers
text when responding to this particular aspect of cite evidence in their
text-based questions.” the learning, the teacher independent tasks more
implements “proofreading frequently after working
pals” that provide feedback with their “proofreading
on their responses to pals”?
text-based questions.
 Promising Principle 1: Motivation 49

Potential Promising Ways to Evaluate Link to the Research on

Problem of Practice
Principle or Practice the Impact the Science of Learning

“When students are The teacher provided Classroom observation and Cooperative Learning
involved in physical activity, hula-hoops for her and her the number of reminder With the Teacher
I am always reminding them learners to stand in during slips during physical
of how to operate in a safe instruction. Together, both education block; did
space.” the teacher and learners learners increase their
worked on developing a self-monitoring of their safe
sense of their safe space. space?

“They never study. I can The teacher provided video Student survey asking Effort-Based Attributions
barely even get them to ask recordings of previous about their study and Student Expectations
questions before the test.” students describing their habits before and after
study habits and how they the intervention and
helped them succeed in student performance on
their learning. Then, the assessments; did learners
teacher explicitly taught report using more effective
those strategies to the study habits? Did the use of
learners. the study habits correlate
with their performance on
the assessment?

“My students don’t seem This classroom teacher Classroom observation; Interest/Attitude
to want to talk. When I ask developed a series of tasks using a checklist, did
them to engage in a think- that tapped into students’ learners engage in more
pair-share, they so often sit interests as a practice for dialogue, using academic
in silence and wait for time motivating them to engage vocabulary?
to pass.” in classroom discussion.

“My high schoolers won’t The English Department Progress monitoring of the Self-Efficacy
read. I can ask them to implemented goal setting reading logs; was there a
read a novel, but they find and reading logs to change in the time devoted
every way possible to avoid encourage students to to reading? Did the nature
having to read it.” divide up their reading into of classroom discussions
smaller, more manageable about the reading change?
chunks.

“My learners view This classroom teacher Use student work before Prior Achievement/Success
themselves as ‘bad at decides to explicitly teach and after the explicit
art.’ This way of thinking specific techniques and instruction of techniques;
interferes with their elements of art, providing ask learners to describe
willingness to devote opportunities to develop their process and how
time and effort to their art these techniques. This also the process leads to the
projects. They rush through helps learners experience specific piece of artwork.
tasks and attribute their success and recognize that Do learners begin to
poor performance to their they can be successful. approach their artwork
belief that they are ‘bad as a process and not
at art.’” simply a task to complete?
What language do they
use to talk about their
artwork and themselves as
an artist?
50 Module 5

Looking at the examples in the first column of Figure 5.3, there is a possibility, as
we noted, that the challenge is not related to motivation, but to some other aspect
of acquiring, consolidating, and storing learning. How will you know if the principle
or practice related to motivation worked? Well, as you can see in the third column,
we must generate and gather evidence that will help us answer the question. This is
known as evaluative thinking and is a key component of successfully implementing
what works best in learning.

Evaluative Thinking About Learning

1. What is the learner ready to learn, and what evidence supports this?

2. What are possible interventions from the science of learning?

3. What is the expected impact and how will this be measured?

4. How will the possible intervention from the science of learning be

implemented in my classroom with my learners (i.e., adaptations based on
the local context)?

5. Did the intervention have an impact?

6. How do I collaborate with colleagues and peers to interpret the evidence

of impact?

Source: Adapted from Rickards et al. (2021).

We have captured and rephrased questions 2–5 of evaluative thinking in a template

for you to use in your own classroom and with your colleagues and learners. Why the
change in questions? Well, we wanted to provide guiding questions for you and your
accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+. These questions direct our focus
on applying promising principles with intention and purpose—moving learning forward
through a challenge or problem of practice. Let’s give it a try.

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
Use the next pages to map out your own challenge of problem of practice. You can
return to Figure 5.3, column 4, for examples of an aspect of the learning in your class-
room that you might want to focus on.
 Promising Principle 1: Motivation 51

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

52 Module 5

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on motivation. Refer back
to the previous information in this module if necessary.

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 5.3 for examples.

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?
 Promising Principle 1: Motivation 53

Motivation is an aspect of learning that will need continuous monitoring and adjusting.
What is an impetus for effort on Monday may not be as effective on Wednesday. What
moves learners to devote resources to learning in the morning may not do the same
later in the day. If we are to have great learning by design, a reflective process will need
to become a regular part of learning.

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe what is meant

by motivation?

Can I explain the different

ways of thinking about
motivation in my classroom?

Can I develop specific

ways to apply research
on motivation into my
classroom and evaluate the
impact of this application?

However, we cannot simply stop at motivation. Once we have created a general desire of
learners to engage in the learning experiences or tasks, we must move our attention to
what they are paying attention to in the experience or task—the topic of the next module.
 6

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 2:
ATTENTION
Learners may be motivated to put effort into the acquisition, consolidation, and stor-
age of declarative, procedural, and conditional learning, but if they do not direct their
attention to the right aspects of the learning task or experience, they will likely not
meet the learning expectations (see Figure 6.1).

 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND ATTENTION

A
6.1
INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle or In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

Practice: Attention

What is attention? What does this How do I translate

What does the look like in the research on
research say about preK–12 motivation into my
attention in classrooms? own classroom?
learning? How will I know
that this promising
principle or
practice had an
impact on my
learners?

54
 Promising Principle 2: Attention 55

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the role of attention in my I will know we have successfully completed this
students’ learning. module when

•• I can describe what is meant by attention.

•• I can explain the influences on my students’
attention to learning in my classroom.
•• I can develop specific ways to apply research
on attention into my classroom and evaluate the
impact of this application.

WHAT IS ATTENTION?
To acquire, consolidate, and store content, skills, and understandings in the classroom,
learners must attend to that particular learning. Let’s look at a specific example by start-
ing with the explicitly stated learning intentions and success criteria for a middle grades
social studies class in North Carolina.

TODAY’S LEARNING INTENTIONS SUCCESS CRITERIA

Content Learning Intention: We are learning about We will know we are successful when
the scarcity of resources in settlements.
•• We can identify the physical features of a
Language Learning Intention: We are learning specific geographic location that might influence
about the role of historical narratives in the settlement.
communicating events and experiences.
•• We can provide evidence of how those physical
Social Learning Intention: We are learning about characteristics influenced the settlement.
the value of diverse perspectives in communicating
about historical events and experiences. •• We can cite evidence from historical narratives
to support our inferences.

This is the declarative, procedural, and conditional learning that is expected in this
classroom on a given day. If this is the expected learning, then this particular teacher
must design learning experiences and tasks that direct learners’ attention to the most
relevant content, skills, and understandings. Furthermore, these experiences and tasks
must also support learners in discerning what is irrelevant to their progress toward the
learning intentions and success criteria.
56 Module 6

Attention is our capacity for identifying, selecting, and focusing our cognitive resources
on specific stimuli. When we are successful at this endeavor, or when we leverage
this capacity, we are successful at discerning between what is relevant and irrelevant
and then holding that attention until a specific goal or outcome is accomplished. In
ATTENTION IS the classroom, this goal or outcome is the successful acquisition, consolidation, and
OUR CAPACITY storage of learning. Selective attention, or directing our attention to relevant stimuli, is
FOR IDENTIFYING, powerful in ensuring that learners focus on the right content, skills, and understandings
at the right moment, and for the amount of time necessary for great learning by design.
SELECTING,
AND FOCUSING Take a moment and participate in a brief experiment. Using the QR code provided,
OUR COGNITIVE take a look at the brief video and instructions associated with one of the most famous
RESOURCES ON selective attention experiments from the science of learning and attention.
SPECIFIC STIMULI.
So, how did the experiment go? According to Simons and Chabris (1999), if individuals
have never heard of “the invisible gorilla,” about 50% of participants never notice his
entrance or exit in the video clip.

But what if you have heard of “the invisible gorilla” before ever reading this playbook?
Does this influence your selective attention? Well, Chabris and Simons took that into
consideration and designed a subsequent experiment to see what prior knowledge of
the gorilla did to participants’ attention. For additional information about this second
experiment, visit the companion website.
For a video on attention
and awareness, visit the As interesting as this experiment and conversation are, let’s turn our attention back
companion website at to the importance of this particular finding from the science of learning and our class-
resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks. rooms. Use the Venn diagram below to compare “the invisible gorilla” experiments to
your classroom. Be very specific. Include the details of Simons and Chabris’ experiment
to really unpack the value in including the current discussion in this playbook.

Let’s return to the seventh-grade social studies classroom. Just as the teacher provided
online learning intentions and success criteria for the learners, Simons and Chabris (1999) pro-
resources

For more resources related

vided a goal for us in the video. The subsequent tasks in the social studies class must
to the original Simons align to those learning intentions and success criteria just as the individuals passed
and Chabris study, visit the basketball in the experiment. But, if counting the number of passes between
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
participants is really what we are looking for as the goal or outcome, what factors must
howlearningworks. we consider?
 Promising Principle 2: Attention 57

These factors are already familiar to us in classrooms. Take a moment, use the space
provided, and list specific influences that you believe affect your learners’ attention.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ATTENTION

There are several factors influencing our attention and the attention of our learners.
The effect sizes for each factor are from the Visible Learning MetaX (2021) database.

1. Prior Knowledge and Learning (Effect Size = 0.93). What our learners
already know, understand, and are able to do influences where we direct
our attention. Unless purposefully, intentionally, or deliberately directed
elsewhere, our learners will attend to elements of a learning experience or
task that is familiar to them or that they already know, understand, and are
able to do. For another video on
Return to the learning intentions and success criteria from the seventh- attention and awareness,
visit the companion website
grade social studies class. How might attention to the relevant aspects of the at resources.corwin.com/
learning be supported through prior knowledge and learning? Use the space howlearningworks.
provided to brainstorm ideas.
58 Module 6

2. Deep Motivation (Effect Size = 0.57). Yes, the promising principle or practice
from Module 5 is related to the promising principle or practice in this module.
LEARNERS NEED Simply put, when our learners are motivated to learn something, they are
SCAFFOLDING AND more likely to pay attention. However, that still does not mean they will pay
SUPPORT AS THEY attention to the most relevant aspects of the learning experience or task.
This is where our responsibility really plays out in the design of the learning.
DEVELOP THEIR
We have to design learning to ensure that this motivation to learn is directed
OWN CAPACITY
toward the most relevant aspects of the experience or task, but then scaffold
IN DISCERNING our learners’ capacity to self-regulate their own attention. This is the focus of
RELEVANT AND the second half of this playbook.
IRRELEVANT ASPECTS Use the space provided to describe the relationship between motivation
OF THEIR LEARNING. and attention. Revisit Module 5 if a quick review is necessary.

3. Awareness/Attention/Engagement (Effect Size = 0.54). The smell of a

science experiment, an image of a battle in World War II, the suspense
in a short story, or the anticipation of playing a game tap into our body’s
emotional system. This, in turn, diverts our attention to the source of these
emotional stimuli.
 Promising Principle 2: Attention 59

Brainstorm ideas about ways to “capture” your learners’ attention. List

them in the box below, alongside the specific learning goals or outcomes.

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
Capturing and maintaining the attention of learners toward relevant aspects of the online
resources
learning experience or task is something that must be continuously monitored and
For more resources related
adjusted throughout each and every day. In addition, learners need scaffolding and to dual coding theory and
support as they develop their own capacity in discerning relevant and irrelevant aspects cognitive load, visit
of their learning. While having clear learning intentions and success criteria is a start, the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
some other promising principles and practices can be extracted and implemented in howlearningworks.
our classroom. As we indicated in Module 5, the power of this implementation comes
from our evaluating the impact of each promising principle or practice on learning. Let’s
look at some examples of how research on attention and the science of learning was
extracted and applied to these specific situations (see Figure 6.2).
60 Module 6

 XTRACTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

E
6.2
FROM ATTENTION RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM

Challenge or Problem Potential Promising Link to the Research on

Ways to Evaluate the Impact
of Practice Principle or Practice the Science of Learning

“I have a very difficult time Rather than simply introducing Learners were asked to Emotional Cueing
getting my learners to pay Hamlet as simply reading identify five scenes and
attention to the language a Shakespearean drama, a explain how that scene is
of Hamlet and notice key high school English teacher critical in the development
details in the written word introduces Hamlet describing and resolution of the play;
of a play. They are used to the plot in modern terms (e.g., learners focused on the
watching a play.” you come home from college specific elements and
and find your mother married language, ignoring those
to your uncle; oh, and he is aspects that were not
haunted by his father’s ghost). pertinent to the outcome.

“Students don’t always Rather than opening up the Through independent tasks, Providing Meaning
see the value in studying lesson or the first lesson of did learners identify additional and Relevancy
ancient civilizations. They the unit with the traditional connections and provide
just brush it off as studying presentation of the learning explicit links to course topics?
dead people.” intentions and success They did not get distracted
criteria, the teacher provided by other aspects of the
specific examples of “things civilizations.
from today” that are from
those ancient civilizations
(e.g., aqueducts in Rome
and plumbing; Greco-Roman
ideas of citizenship and
assemblies paired with the
U.S. Constitution).

“When my students The teacher decided to break The teacher monitored Avoid Multitasking
arrive in the gymnasium, down the process for entering the amount of time at
it is chaos. They don’t the gymnasium into specific the beginning of class
always pay attention to steps, presented one by one devoted to behavior and
instructions given for to the learners. In addition, the management; the efficiency
the day’s lesson. They teacher provided specific time and effectiveness of learners
get distracted by the spans for learners to complete getting ready to learn; their
equipment and ignore me that particular step—using a knowledge and awareness
when I explain the agenda timer for guiding learners. of the learning expectations
for the day.” for the class (i.e., did they
recognize the most relevant
aspects of the introduction?).

“I find it very difficult for Recognizing that learners Are learners asking and Allow for Breaks
my learners to make it cannot pay continuous responding to questions at
through the block. I can attention for the entire a great frequency during the
barely work through two mathematics block, the 7- to 10-minute chunks? Are
examples before they teacher breaks the block learners engaging in my self-
checkout.” into 7- to 10-minute chunks, reflection and self-monitoring
offering learners opportunities during the think-pair-shares or
to refocus on other tasks turn and talks?
between those chunks (e.g.,
think-pair-share, turn and talk,
or taking a break completely).
 Promising Principle 2: Attention 61

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
Use the space below to map out your challenge or problem of practice. You can return
to Figure 6.2 for examples of an aspect of your students’ attentiveness to learning in
your classroom that you might want to focus on in this module.

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?
62 Module 6

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on attention. Refer back to
the previous information in this module, if necessary.
 Promising Principle 2: Attention 63

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 6.2 for examples.

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?
64 Module 6

Are the questions in the above boxes embedded in your approach for extracting and
implementing a promising principle or practice from the science of learning on atten-
tion? Remember, if our learners are not paying attention, the acquisition, consolidation,
and storage of learning will be almost impossible during your designed learning expe-
rience or task.

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe what is

meant by attention?

Can I explain the

influences on my students’
attention to learning in my
classroom?

Can I develop specific

ways to apply research on
attention into my classroom
and evaluate the impact of
this application?

Motivation, attention—now let’s take a look at encoding.

 7

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 3:
ELABORATE ENCODING
John Medina (2014) asserts that “the more elaborately we encode information at the
moment of learning, the stronger the storage” (p. 110). But what does this mean? Well,
just as we invoked “the invisible gorilla” experiment in the previous module, let’s try
another experiment here. For this experiment, adapted from the one provided in John
Medina’s book, Brain Rules, you will need the help of your colleagues or your PLC+.

1. Divide them into two groups.

2. One group should count and tally the number of letters that contain diagonal
lines and the number of letters that do not have diagonal lines.
3. The other group should determine if the word gives them a positive or
negative feeling and why.
4. Then, show them the list of words below and allow them to look at the list for
two minutes.

Nine Cell Ring

Sword Apple Table

Army Fire Worm

Clock Color Baby

Desk Rock Bird

5. Once the two minutes have expired, hide the list of words and ask your
colleagues to write down as many words as they can recall from the list.
6. Tally up the number of words for each group.

The surprising and shocking results bring us to the focus of this module. The second
group of your colleagues engaged in elaborate encoding, the third promising princi-
ple of this playbook (see Figure 7.1). Before moving forward, look back at the details
65
66 Module 7

of this experiment and reflect on the similarities and differences in the specific task
for each group. Use the space provided and the guiding questions to jot down
your thoughts.

How were the tasks of the two groups in the previous experiment similar? How were they different?

Based on your observations from this experiment, summarize what is meant by elaborate encoding.
 Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding 67

 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING AND

A
7.1
ELABORATE ENCODING INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

or Practice:
Elaborate Encoding

What is elaborate What does this How do I translate

encoding? look like in the research on
What does the preK–12 elaborate encoding
research say about classrooms? into my own
encoding learning? classroom?
How will I know
that this promising
principle or practice
had an impact on
my learners?

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about elaborate encoding and how I will know we have successfully completed this
it amplifies student learning. module when

•• I can describe what is meant by elaborate

encoding.
•• I can compare and contrast elaborate and rote
encoding in learning.
•• I can develop specific ways to apply research
on elaborate encoding into my classroom and
evaluate the impact of this application.

WHAT IS ELABORATE ENCODING?

Returning to the word list at the beginning of this module, the second group was asked
to engage in a deep level of processing by focusing on their emotional reactions and online
resources
then explaining that reaction. This is very different from counting letters with diagonal
lines. Elaborate encoding is the deep processing of information by linking new content, For more resources related
to elaborate encoding, visit
skills, and understandings to prior knowledge, background knowledge, and/or previous
the companion website
experiences. One way to think about elaborate encoding is through Wittrock’s gener- at resources.corwin.com/
ative processes (see Doctorow et al., 1978). Let’s try this process using a piece of text. howlearningworks.

Locate a newspaper or magazine article or any piece of text you have access to in your
home, classroom, or office. As you read the text, pause at the end of each paragraph
and write a summary of that paragraph in your own words. This generative process, the
68 Module 7

active engaging in the text by first reading and then summarizing the reading, promotes
elaborate encoding and leads to better learning.
online
resources
This seminal work paved the way for subsequent research in the science of learn-
For more resources related
to generative processes,
ing related to elaborate encoding. When learners engage in elaborate encoding, they
visit the companion website engage in deeply processing the learning. This leads to better acquisition, consolida-
at resources.corwin.com/ tion, and storage of learning.
howlearningworks.

COMPONENTS OF ELABORATE ENCODING

There are three contributors to elaborate encoding that support this deeper processing.
First and foremost, motivation. Yes, this is becoming a reoccurring theme. Learners
online
resources must be motivated to devote their time, attention, and effort to the elaborate encoding
experience or task. If this motivation is absent in our classrooms, learners may default
For more resources related
to elaboration and thought to the equivalent of counting letters with diagonal lines (e.g., summarizing their notes
to action, visit the versus memorizing vocabulary terms).
companion website at
resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks. Second, elaborate encoding requires multiple representations of the content, skills,
and understandings. When we refer to multiple representations, we are referring to
mental representations or different ways of thinking about the learning. Summarizing
content in their own words, self-questioning, creating or associating the learning with
visuals and imagery, and constructing graphic organizers with the material are exam-
ples of multiple representations.

Finally, elaborate encoding encourages learners to find and apply patterns within
their learning. This is different from simple repeating patterns. Consider the following
example from an elementary mathematics classroom.

Option 1 Option 2
Directions: Complete the following. Directions: Complete the following.

   6 + 10 = ? 1. Choose any number between 2

    7 + 9 = ? and 9.
   8 +    8 = ? 2. Add that number to itself, write
   9 +     7 = ? the equation, and solve.
10 +    6 = ?
3. Then, increase the number you
picked by one and decrease the
number you picked by one.
4. Add those two new numbers.
5. Repeat this process a few more
times. What do you notice?

Source: Adapted from Hattie et al. (2017).

 Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding 69

How are Options 1 and 2 similar? How are they different?

Which of these options requires learners to find and apply patterns? Which one simply
requires the repeating of patterns? In this case, Option 2 is an example of elaborate
encoding and will promote greater acquisition, consolidation, and storage. Now, there
is a very valuable place in the learning process for Option 1, but we will address this in
the next module.

Use the space provided and brainstorm different ways to incorporate elaborate encod- LEARNERS MUST
ing into the learning in your classroom. BE MOTIVATED TO
DEVOTE THEIR TIME,
Potential Ways to Incorporate Into the ATTENTION, AND
Learning in My Classroom EFFORT TO THE
Motivation ELABORATE ENCODING
EXPERIENCE.

Multiple Representations

Finding and Applying

Patterns
70 Module 7

APPROACHES TO PROMOTING
ELABORATE ENCODING
While there are many approaches to supporting elaborate encoding in learning, there
are some very common approaches that we will focus on as examples of deriving prom-
ising principles or practices from this aspect of the science of learning.

Summarizing Learning Into Learners’ Own Words (Effect Size = 0.74).

One approach to foster multiple representations and the finding and
applying of patterns is to ask learners to summarize content, skills, and
understandings into their own words. This can be done in writing or
through verbal communication. In the science classroom, learners can
turn and talk to peers, for example, to summarize the Krebs Cycle in
cellular respiration.
THE PLATITUDE Self-Questioning (Effect Size = 0.59). As learners engage in declarative,
THAT A PICTURE IS procedural, and conditional learning, students can generate their own
WORTH 1,000 WORDS questions and then develop answers to those questions. These should
IS GOOD ADVICE be questions that require them to clarify their understanding, probe their
FOR ELABORATE conceptual understanding, and inquire into their procedural knowledge.
ENCODING. For example, after reading the assigned pages in Silas Marner, learners
can generate questions about their reading and then answer their own
questions.

Visuals and Imagery (Effect Size = 0.51). The platitude that a picture
is worth 1,000 words is good advice for elaborate encoding. Linking
words and numbers to images provides multiple representations and
allows for pattern identification. For example, in a mathematics class,
learners would benefit from seeing the equation to a particular function,
along with the table for that function and the corresponding graph.
Of course, they could summarize the elements of that equation and
generate questions about the equation that they would then answer.

Concept Mapping (Effect Size = 0.64). Finally, deep levels of processing

are supported through concept mapping. However, in this case, concept
mapping is more than just circles connected by lines. The goal here
would be to generate statements or sentences that explain why two
particular circles are connected.

Is a type
Rhombus Quadrilateral
of . . . ?

Let’s look at each of these in the context of the classroom and how to evaluate the
impact of the promising principles or practices on student learning (see Figure 7.2).
 Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding 71

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
 XTRACTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FROM
E
7.2
ELABORATE ENCODING RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM

Link to the
Challenge or Problem Potential Promising
Ways to Evaluate the Impact Research on the
of Practice Principle or Practice
Science of Learning

“My students simply The teacher asks learners to The teacher monitors the use of Summarizing
memorized chemical formulas summarize the Krebs Cycle in scientific terminology and the
and did not understand the their own words with a partner ability for learners to talk about
why behind the Krebs Cycle and then on their own in an exit the Krebs Cycle in relation to
in cellular respiration. This ticket. Their summaries were to other cellular processes. Did
is more than just chemical include specific examples. learners respond to transfer-
formulas.” type questions on the end-of-
unit assessment?
“My learners just read words. As learners read the novel Were learners able to make Self-Questioning
They don’t take on the role of Silas Marner, they had to inferences and cite specific
an active reader and seek to generate different types of evidence from the text in
comprehend the text. To them, questions and respond to written assignments and
the book is simply words on a them. These questions were during class discussions? Were
page and not a quality piece kept in their reading notebooks learners able to reference
of literature.” and used for individual, partner, specific aspects of the plot
and group tasks during and relate those details to the
the unit. development of the characters?
“My learners do not fully The teacher decides to use Classroom observations of Visuals and Imagery
understand that variables equations, tables, and graphs learners’ discussions and
and constraints on equations together in learning about questions; student work
are real things and not some linear equations. This teacher samples before and after the
abstract idea. This is the uses technology to ensure that intervention; did the learners
essence of mathematical learners can make changes to provide more details in their
modeling.” an equation and immediately work or explanations of
see those changes in the table their work?
and graph (e.g., Desmos).
“The learners struggle to The teacher decides to Classroom observation; using Concept Mapping
see relationships between use graphic organizers a checklist, did learners use
vertices, sides, and geometric that require learners to relationships in new learning?
shapes. They try to just organize information, identify Was there a shared language
memorize characteristics.” relationships, and apply those in discussing shapes? How
relationships to additional did learners perform on unit
geometric shapes. assessments that include
different types of geometric
shapes?
“My learners do not The art teacher decides to Classroom observation; Concept Mapping
always learn the essential have learners create a series student conversations when
characteristics of different of thinking maps that compare analyzing different pieces of
periods in art history. To them, and contrast different periods art; essays—use to explain the
they ‘all look the same.’” that are very similar on essential characteristics for
the surface. each period.
72 Module 7

As you review the specific examples in this table, keep in mind that we will devote
several modules to building our learner capacity to self-regulate their own learning.
For now, simply use these examples to develop your own hypotheses about how this
promising principle can be extracted and implemented in your classroom to support
learning.

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
Use the next pages to map out your challenge or problem of practice. You can return
to Figure 7.2 for examples of elaborate encoding in your classroom that you might want
to focus on in this module.
 Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding 73

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

74 Module 7

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on encoding. Refer back to
the previous information in this module, if necessary.

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 7.2 for examples.

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?
 Promising Principle 3: Elaborate Encoding 75

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe what is meant

by elaborate encoding?

Can I compare and contrast

elaborate and rote encoding
in learning?

Can I develop specific

ways to apply research on
elaborate encoding into my
classroom and evaluate the
impact of this application?

After encoding, we now turn our attention to retrieval and practice.

 8

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 4:
RETRIEVAL AND
PRACTICE
In our previous module, we considered the promising principle and practice of elabo-
rate encoding. Take a moment and, in your own words, jot down everything you can
remember from the previous module. Do not look back at the previous module—do this
using purely recall.

Now, flip back to Module 7 and fill in any missing details or correct any inaccurate informa-
tion about elaborate encoding. How much did you recall about elaborate encoding? What
did you leave out and have to go and retrieve from the previous module? This task, while
very similar to an ordinary review of previous materials, sets us up for a look at retrieval
and practice. However, before we go any farther into this module, let’s try one more task.

Take a look at the seven images of what appear to be pennies. You will quickly notice
that they are all different. Your task in this experiment is to try to identify the one image
76
 Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice 77

that accurately depicts a penny. Please do not go and find a penny to help you. Try to
identify which image looks like a penny.

online
resources

For more resources related

to long-term memory for
a common object, visit
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
Image source: Editorial Image, LLC/Alamy Stock Photo howlearningworks.

Before we reveal the answer, let’s think about the two previous tasks. We just com-
pleted Module 7, but likely had to return to the content of that module to fill in missing
information in the review box. Additionally, we have seen, touched, and used thou-
sands of pennies in our lifetime. Yet, we likely could not identify an image that accu-
rately depicts a penny. Why is that?

If we devoted the time, attention, and effort to Module 7, there is a high likelihood that we
elaborately encoded the information about elaborate encoding. This elaborate encoding
comes from the experiences and tasks embedded in that module. For the penny task, we
may have seen, touched, and used thousands of pennies, but there is a high likelihood
that we did not pay attention to or elaborately encode the details or features of what
pennies look like while using them. (By the way, the answer is C.) You did not elaborately
encode those details or features because you did not need them—no motivation. Yet, we
struggled with both tasks. Simply put, the initial encoding of declarative, procedural, and
conditional knowledge is not enough. We have to retrieve and practice learning to ensure
long-term acquisition, consolidation, and storage of that learning (see Figure 8.1).

   A FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF RETRIEVAL AND PRACTICE

8.1
INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle or In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

Practice: Retrieval
and Practice

What is retrieval? What does this How do I translate

What does it mean look like in the research on
to really practice? preK–12 retrieval and
classrooms? practice into my
What does the own classroom?
research say about
retrieval and How will I know
practice? that this promising
principle or practice
had an impact on
my learners?
78 Module 8

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the role of retrieval and I will know we have successfully completed this
practice in student learning. module when

•• I can identify the benefits of retrieval and

practice on my students’ learning.
•• I can describe the conditions of retrieval and
practice that improve student learning.
•• I can develop specific ways to apply research
on retrieval and practice into my classroom and
evaluate the impact of this application.

WHAT IS RETRIEVAL AND PRACTICE?

Retrieval is the act of “going and getting” declarative, procedural, and conditional
knowledge. Once learning is acquired, encoded, and stored, the act of retrieval is the
reactivation of that learning through active processing. For example, consolidation and
long-term learning call for retrieving the characteristics of quadrilaterals, the process
for finding the genotype and phenotype, the importance of author purpose in a piece
of writing, or the conditions for starting cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The act
of “going and getting” information is well-documented in the research as a means of
increasing the consolidation and storage of learning (Bjork, 1975; Roediger & Karpicke,
2006). In the box below are several statements from the research on retrieval. However,
rather than simply providing these research findings to you in a bulleted list, let’s utilize
the process of retrieval. Complete the following fill-in notes about retrieval.

1. Instead of repeated restu____g, learners are far better off tes____g themselves, both early and often.

2. This does not mean that we admin____r more tests, but rather provide numerous opp____s for
students to retr____e previously learned information from memory.

3. The act of retr____l is a memory modi____r. Whatever infor____n is retr____d becomes strengthened.

4. With fee____k, either by seeing the answers or rev____g the information, the benefits of tes____g
become even more powerful.
 Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice 79

5. For mult____e-ch____e questions, have students justify why a particular answer is cor____t and why
other answers are incor____t.
6. When material is studied over sev____l sess____s and tested in a new context, var____g the contexts
of study results in be____r perf____ce.

The answers:

1. restudying; testing
2. administer; opportunities; retrieve
3. retrieval; modifier; information; retrieved
4. feedback; reviewing/revising/revisiting; testing
5. multiple-choice; correct; incorrect
6. several sessions; varying; better performance

Before moving forward, take a moment and brainstorm the possible implications on online
resources
your classroom of these findings from the science of learning about retrieval. How might
these three specific findings from the science of learning translate into your classroom? For more resources related
to retrieval, visit the
companion website at
resources.corwin.com/
Research Finding About Retrieval Possible Application to My Classroom howlearningworks.

Learners are far better off testing

themselves, both early and often.

Provide learners with numerous

opportunities to retrieve previously
learned information from memory.

Mistakes are okay! When learners make

mistakes, receive feedback, and have the
opportunity to revise the information, the
benefits of retrieval are enhanced.

Varying the context of retrieval enhances

the benefit as well.

We will return to the implementation of retrieval into our classrooms soon. For now, we
want to tackle two important aspects of retrieval: timing and type. First, what about the
timing of retrieval?
80 Module 8

TIMING OF RETRIEVAL
When should we retrieve and how much time between each retrieval is optimal in
boosting learning? To answer these two questions, consider the following graph of
data. Take some time and look closely at the graph.

Learn Review
Something (or Actively Retrieve)

Flattens
Retention

Out

Forgetting
Curve

Day 0 Time Better Long-Term

Retention

When you are ready, use the space provided to write down your observations about
this graph. What do you notice? What stands out to you? How does this graph help us
see the relationship between retrieval and time?

Retrieval should be approached much like drinking the recommended daily allowance
of water. We should drink smaller amounts of water throughout the entire day, not con-
sume the recommended daily allowance all in one dose first thing in the morning or right
before we go to bed. Furthermore, we should take these smaller drinks of water right
 Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice 81

before we become thirsty. Likewise, we should space out retrieval during the learning
experience, day, week, or unit AND offer opportunities to retrieve just as learners are
about to forget. With this new learning, return to the space on the previous page and
add any additional observations that stand out in the graph. Also, take a moment and
revisit the table of findings from the science of learning on retrieval. With this additional
learning about the spacing of retrieval, what additional applications are you now think-
ing about for your own classroom?

TYPES OF RETRIEVAL PRACTICE

We have talked about the power of retrieval and the nature of the timing for that
DELIBERATE
retrieval. Before closing out this module, let’s talk about the type of retrieval by looking
PRACTICE IS A
at two different ways to practice. There are two different types of retrieval practice:
naïve practice and deliberate practice (Ericsson & Pool, 2016). Naïve practice is prac- MINDFUL AND
tice that simply accumulates experience. This type of practice is typically without pur- STRUCTURED
pose and represents simply going through the motions (Ericsson et al., 1993). WAY OF LEARNING
BY TARGETING
In mathematics, an example of naïve practice would be learners playing mathemat-
AREAS NEEDING
ics games simply because that was the next task in their rotation or on the agenda.
IMPROVEMENT.
Another example would be learners simply calculating the area of a triangle over and
over again because that was the assignment.

For science, naïve practice would be learners repeatedly going over the parts of a
flower, reviewing the steps of the rock cycle, or calculating the density of various sub-
stances. Another example of naïve practice is writing a word 10 times, or 100 times
for that matter, thinking that it improves spelling. Similarly, memorizing dates and facts
using flashcards is not likely to ensure deep understanding of ancient civilizations or
the geography of a specific region. While this supports memorization, the flexibility and
adaptability of this type of knowledge are limited (i.e., limited transfer).
online
resources
In deliberate practice, learners pinpoint a particular piece of content, a practice, or a
disposition on which they want to improve. Then, learners focus their time on specifically For more resources related
to deliberate practice, visit
improving in that particular content, practice, or disposition until it can be integrated the companion website
into other learning. Deliberate practice is a mindful and structured way of learning by at resources.corwin.com/
targeting areas needing improvement (Ericsson et al., 1993). howlearningworks.

In mathematics, a learner may recognize that they struggle with adding fractions with
unlike denominators. Deliberate practice could still involve having the learner play a
game, but the game should be chosen intentionally to target this area of need and
should focus on strategies to find a common denominator and then add the fractions. If
a learner found multistep contextualized problems confusing, deliberate practice would
involve acting out, sketching, or visualizing and talking out similar problems to make
sense of them but not worry about actually solving them yet; thus, the learning focuses
on the targeted area of need in a structured way.

In science, a learner may recognize that she has considerable difficulty in balancing
equations, especially in oxidation-reduction reactions. For spelling, deliberate practice
82 Module 8

might involve repeated spelling “tests” in which the learner analyzes the location in the
word where the error occurred and then focuses his learning on that spelling pattern,
generalizing to other words with a similar pattern (to note, we recognize that not all
words in the English language work this way).

Deliberate practice focuses on a particular piece of content, a specific skill, or a partial

understanding as learners strive to improve their knowledge in that area. If a learner
encountered problems understanding the relationship between human actions and the
environment, he or she would engage in deliberate, spaced practice sessions that tar-
geted this concept and his or her understanding of the concept. If a learner encoun-
tered challenges remembering the differences between ancient Greece and ancient
Rome, deliberate and spaced practice sessions would need to help him or her improve
their learning in these areas.

With practice, learners deepen their consolidation and storage of their learning. The
step from initial acquisition to the long-term storage of declarative, procedural, and
conditional knowledge is accomplished through deliberate practice.

Yet, we cannot stop there. As evidenced by the forgetting and remember curves on
page 80, learners need to engage in maintenance. This requires learners to continue
to retrieve to maintain their learning. Now, let’s implement retrieval and practice into our
classrooms (see Figure 8.2).

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?

 XTRACTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FROM

E
8.2
RETRIEVAL AND PRACTICE RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM

How Will Learners and

Ways to Deliberately Opportunities for
Focus Teachers Know They Need
Practice Naïve Practice
to Deliberately Practice?

Areas of polygons using Use manipulatives, Hold conferences to identify Sketch quick images
the composition of familiar sketches, folding, and areas of struggle in problem of composed and
polygons visualizing to compose and solving. decomposed polygons.
decompose polygons. Discuss explanations and Find areas of mystery
Have students find in their reflections within problem- shapes as weekly may-do
environment or create solving tasks. tasks.
mystery shapes and find Share and discuss feedback
their areas. on formative assessments,
such as exit tasks and hinge
questions.
 Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice 83

How Will Learners and

Ways to Deliberately Opportunities for
Focus Teachers Know They Need
Practice Naïve Practice
to Deliberately Practice?

The law of conservation of Offer different homework Provide feedback to Continue to put questions
mass in isolated systems assignments based learners on entrance and relating to this topic on
on areas needing exit tickets. upcoming entrance tickets,
improvement; use small Support students in exit tickets, and other
group instruction; use a answering their own assessments.
learning contract. questions.

Sight words Read vocabulary-controlled During small group reading Use a flashcard app to
and decodable texts. instruction, help learners practice words.
recognize which words Read words from the word
they have mastered and wall chorally as a class.
which require additional
Send lists of sight words
instruction and/or practice.
home with parents to
practice.

The influence of China and Read from a variety of Use a formative practice Create a graphic organizer
Korea on ancient Japan sources on the subject test to identify areas of or note page.
based on areas of need. strength and need. Take the quizzes in the
Watch videos on the Ask students to analyze LMS that provide corrective
learning management their results and develop feedback and opportunities
system (LMS) that provide study plans. to re-take them.
needed information based
on the practice test.

Source: Adapted from Almarode et al. (2021).

Again, we will devote several modules to building our learners’ capacity to self-
regulate their own retrieval and practice. After all, managing deliberate practice for 30
different learners at different locations in their learning progression is not sustainable.
For now, simply use these examples to develop your own hypotheses about how
this promising principle can be extracted and implemented in your classroom to
support learning.

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
Retrieval and practice are more than “drill and kill.” Retrieval and practice are inten-
tional, purposeful, and deliberate actions by the learner that seek to close gaps in the
learning. These gaps are not to be interpreted as a deficit in the learner, but simply
the pathway for moving learners from where they are to where they are going (e.g.,
expectations, learning intentions, and success criteria). To avoid us falling into the trap
84 Module 8

of naïve practice, or practice for the sake of practice, take a moment and review the big
ideas in this module. Use the t-chart below to list characteristics and examples of these
two approaches to retrieval and practice.

Deliberate Retrieval and Practice Naïve Retrieval and Practice

Use the next pages to map out your challenge or problem of practice. You can return to
Figure 8.2 for examples of elaborate encoding in your classroom that you might want
to focus on in this module.
 Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice 85

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

86 Module 8

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on encoding. Refer back to
the previous information in this module, if necessary.

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 8.2 for examples.

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?
 Promising Principle 4: Retrieval and Practice 87

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I identify the benefits of

retrieval and practice on my
students’ learning?

Can I describe the conditions

of retrieval and practice that
improve student learning?

Can I develop specific ways

to apply research on retrieval
and practice into my classroom
and evaluate the impact of this
application?

After retrieval and practice, we now turn our attention to cognitive load.
 9

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 5:
COGNITIVE LOAD
Below is a picture of an object, familiar to many of us, a surge protector. This particular
object will play a role in the unpacking of our current promising principle, cognitive
load. Using the space provided, describe the purpose and benefits of using a surge
protector. This particular ask has a point and sets us up for what is coming next.

Image source: iStock/rjp85

OUR COGNITIVE In your above response, you likely referenced purposes and benefits such as plug-
ARCHITECTURE ging in multiple devices, the availability of USB plug-ins, and, just maybe, you men-
tioned that the surge protector protects your devices from sudden bursts of energy
PROVIDES SIMILAR
(e.g., lightning). Just as a surge protector prevents a sudden burst of energy from dam-
PROTECTION AGAINST
aging your electronic devices, our cognitive architecture provides similar protection
INFORMATION
against information overload. To be clear, this comparison breaks down in that learning
OVERLOAD. is not quite equivalent to electricity and if learners take on too much information, they
will not experience damage to their cognitive architecture. They will, however, forget
much of the learning when this happens just as a surge protector stops devices from
working when overloaded with electricity. This is the basis for understanding cognitive
load theory. Knowing what is meant by cognitive load and taking steps to ensure that
we do not inadvertently trigger our learners’ built-in “surge protectors” by exceeding
88
 Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load 89

our learners’ cognitive load will support our learners as they encode, consolidate, and online
resources
store the essential declarative, procedural, and conditional learning we strive for in our
For more resources related
classrooms. This leads us to the promising principles and practices of cognitive load
to cognitive load theory,
(see Figure 9.1). visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.

 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING

A
9.1
ON COGNITIVE LOAD INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

or Practice:
Cognitive Load

What is cognitive What does this How do I translate

load? look like in the research on
What does it preK–12 cognitive load into
mean to manage classrooms? my own classroom?
cogntive load? How will I know
What does the that this promising
research say about principle or practice
cognitive load? had an impact on
my learners?

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about cognitive load and how this I will know we have successfully completed this
concept impacts student learning. module when

•• I can describe what is meant by cognitive load

on my learners.
•• I can identify ways to manage the cognitive load
of my learners that improve learning.
•• I can develop specific ways to apply research on
cognitive load in my classroom and evaluate the
impact of this application.

WHAT IS COGNITIVE LOAD?

Cognitive load refers to the “weight” or “source of pressure” put on our students’
working memory.
90 Module 9

Working memory is the component of memory where we hold attended-to

information for a short time while we try to make sense of it. Working memory
is also where much of our active cognitive processing actually occurs. For
instance, it’s where we think about the content of a lecture, analyze a textbook
COGNITIVE LOAD
passage, or solve a problem. Basically, this is the component that does most
REFERS TO THE of the mental work of the memory system—hence its name, working memory.
“WEIGHT” OR “SOURCE (Ormrod, 2011, p. 186–187)
OF PRESSURE” PUT
ON OUR STUDENTS’
WORKING MEMORY. In our classrooms and with regard to how we and our students learn, one source of this
“weight” or “pressure” on working memory comes from the declarative, procedural, and
conditional knowledge we expect our students to know, understand, and do. Additional
sources of “weight” or “pressure” can come from other interactions and experiences
that learners are thinking about while also in our classrooms (e.g., an argument with a
friend during lunch, the excitement of an after-school activity or event, the apprehen-
sion about a particular piece of content, or the anticipation of impending weather that
may result in a day off from school). However, just as our electronic devices cannot
handle unlimited amounts or an unlimited electrical load, our working memory, and thus
our cognitive load, is limited. The quantity of information that can be actively processed
in our working memory at one time is limited.

Let’s demonstrate the limitations of our working memory with a quick experiment.

Choose one of the following mathematics problems and solve the problem in
your head:

1. 51,456 divided by 62
2. What is the value of x in 3x + 12 = 24?
3. What are the coefficients of the following expanded polynomial: (x + y)3?

Well, how did the experiment go? Without using paper or pencil, the previous prob-
lems were likely challenging, and you simply gave up and continued reading. Did you
ever arrive at the correct answer for any of these problems? What was the difference
between the problems you could do in your head and those that were too challenging?
Use the space below to make a few notes about those differences. We will come back
to these notes in just a moment.
 Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load 91

There are three types of cognitive load: intrinsic, extrinsic, and germane (Sweller et al.,
1998).

Intrinsic cognitive load refers to the overall difficulty and complexity of the specific online
resources
content, skills, and understandings embedded in the learning experience or task.
For example, solving a differential equation or analyzing the Federalist Papers in the For more resources related to
three types of cognitive load,
secondary classroom. For younger learners, this might include adding and subtracting visit the companion website
fractions with unlike denominators or reading Natalie Babbitt’s Tuck Everlasting. The at resources.corwin.com/
intrinsic load of a particular experience or task depends on the readiness of the learner howlearningworks.

and his or her interaction with content, skills, and understandings. But again, this type
of cognitive load is related to the “intrinsic” nature of the topic.

Use the space provided to list specific content, skills, and understandings that have a
lot of intrinsic cognitive load. We can all list specific topics in our curricula that are just
intrinsically difficult and complex for our learners. List them here and provide some
explanation as to why you believe they are high intrinsic cognitive load topics.

Returning to the three mathematics problems on page 90, you can likely estimate the
perceived level of intrinsic cognitive load from your perspective. In addition to the lim-
itations of our working memory, the intrinsic cognitive load of each problem played a
role in you arriving or not arriving at a solution.

Extrinsic cognitive load refers to the learning materials and the surrounding environ- THIS TYPE OF
ment. Moving beyond the inherent nature of the topic, extrinsic cognitive load refers to
COGNITIVE LOAD IS
the “packaging of the topic.” For example, the complexity of the wording or phrasing of
RELATED TO THE
a question around a particular topic is extrinsic cognitive load. Had each of the three
“INTRINSIC” NATURE
mathematics problems been embedded into a story or word problem that had difficult
and complex vocabulary, the cognitive load of the tasks would have gone up for rea- OF THE TOPIC.
sons above and beyond the nature of the mathematics. Similarly, asking young learners
to make inferences and cite evidence from the text brings about a certain amount of
intrinsic cognitive load. However, providing unclear examples or examples that are not
developmentally appropriate adds additional extrinsic cognitive load.

Extrinsic cognitive load also includes distractions or factors within the learning envi-
ronment that call for the learner to either attend to or deliberately ignore (e.g., other
students’ talking, a noise outside of the window, the temperature of the room, the prox-
imity of snack time, lunch, or dismissal). Dealing with distractions adds to cognitive load.
92 Module 9

Return to the earlier list of content, skills, and understandings that have a lot of intrinsic
cognitive load. Now consider the learning materials and environment that surround the
content, skills, and understandings. List specific characteristics or conditions that you
believe add extrinsic cognitive load.

online
resources
Germane cognitive load comes from learners engaging in the active processing of
content, skills, and understandings through organizing, integrating, and connecting
For more resources related
this learning with prior knowledge. This is the one we want! For learning by design to
to germane cognitive load,
visit the companion website happen, we must monitor the level of intrinsic cognitive load in our learners, reduce
at resources.corwin.com/ the level of extrinsic cognitive load, and design learning experiences and tasks that
howlearningworks.
maximize germane cognitive load. Germane cognitive load is the active engagement in
learning experiences and tasks that leads to the acquisition, consolidation, and storage
of declarative, procedural, and conditional learning. This includes many of the promis-
ing principles we have explored prior to this module.

Take a moment and in the space provided make an explicit connection between ger-
mane cognitive load and the previous promising principles. Flip back to the previous
modules to provide specific examples of how they support our design in maximizing
germane cognitive load.

Promising Principle How Do They Support Our Design in Maximizing Germane Cognitive Load?

Motivation

Attention

Elaborate Encoding

Retrieval and Practice

 Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load 93

Let’s return one last time to the three mathematics problems, specifically, problems 2
and 3. To maximize germane cognitive load, we might provide opportunities that allow
learners to discover and apply the patterns generated in Pascal’s Triangle and the coef-
ficients in an expanded binomial. Another way to enhance germane cognitive load is to
provide opportunities for learners to see that y = 3x + 12 generates a line on which the
ordered pair (4, 24) is a solution.

Now, let’s link the concept of germane cognitive load with our work in previous mod-
ules. Return to your earlier list of content, skills, and understandings that have a lot
of intrinsic cognitive load. List specific strategies or approaches that you can use to
enhance the germane cognitive load for these topics. To help generate ideas, custom-
ize the ideas you developed around motivation, attention, elaborate encoding, and
retrieval and practice.

Before moving into the implementation of cognitive load theory into your classroom,
let’s engage in retrieval and practice around the three types of cognitive load. Use the
three-way Venn diagram to compare and contrast intrinsic, extrinsic, and germane cog-
nitive load. Use specific examples from your own classroom—refer to the list you have
already generated in the module to get started.
94 Module 9

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
Managing, minimizing, and maximizing the different types of cognitive load is para-
mount in learning by design. Just as a surge protector prevents overwhelming our
devices with electricity, our cognitive architecture is set up to do the same thing with
our working memory.

Intrinsic Load + Extraneous Load + Germane Load

Manage Minimize Maximize

Take a moment and flip back to Ormrod’s definition of working memory on page 90.
Please circle, underline, or highlight the following words:

attend
make sense
active cognitive processing
online
resources

For more resources related

To understand what the managing, minimizing, and maximizing of cognitive load looks
to classroom practice like in our classrooms, we have to be clear about what we want our learners to attend
guide related to cognitive to, make sense of, and actively process. Then, and only then, can we make intentional,
load theory, visit the
companion website at purposeful, and deliberate decisions about cognitive load. Figure 9.2 shares some
resources.corwin.com/ promising practices that are extracted from the research on cognitive load theory.
howlearningworks.

 XTRACTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FROM

E
9.2
RETRIEVAL AND PRACTICE RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM

Summary of What This

Practice Practice Looks Like Classroom Example
in the Classroom

Strive for Coherence Remove any unnecessary and In mathematics, ensure that
irrelevant information from the words and images contain
the instructions, narratives, or only the information that is
descriptions of the learning essential for the concept, skill,
materials. or application of that concept
and skill.
 Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load 95

Summary of What This

Practice Practice Looks Like Classroom Example
in the Classroom

Utilize Signaling Utilize tools and techniques In social studies, use fill-in
that direct learners’ attention notes that require learners to
to the essential content, skills, “fill in” the essential information
and understandings. during a learning experience.
This may also include using
bold words, italics, and other
graphics.

Avoid Redundancy When using graphics, avoid When using graphics (e.g.,
providing text and audio at science or art history), explain
the same time. This requires the image or graphic with a
the learner to simultaneously verbal or audio explanation
process redundant pieces of or text. Do not use both at the
information. same time.

Place Labels and Often referred to as spatial In a diesel mechanic class,

Descriptors Close contiguity, place labels and the manual for basic care and
to Graphics descriptors right next to the maintenance should have
location on the image or labels right next to the parts
graphic they are referring to. and processes in the manual.
Color coding the images and
providing a legend is not
effective.

Present Labels and This practice is referred to as When teaching learners

Descriptors at the temporal contiguity. The labels, about text features, the text
Same Time as descriptors, and the image or feature, along with the name,
the Graphics graphic should be presented at is presented at the same time.
the same time. This links the image and the
term together.

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
Use the next pages to map out your challenge or problem of practice. You can return to
Figure 9.2 for examples of alleviating cognitive load in your classroom that you might
want to focus on in this module.
96 Module 9

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

 Promising Principle 5: Cognitive Load 97

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on cognitive load. Refer
back to the previous information in this module, if necessary.

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 9.2 for examples.

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?
98 Module 9

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe what is

meant by cognitive load
on my learners?

Can I identify ways to

manage the cognitive
load of my learners that
improve learning?

Can I develop specific

ways to apply research
on cognitive load in my
classroom and evaluate
the impact of this
application?

We now turn our attention to productive struggle.

 10

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 6:
PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE
Before addressing the idea of productive struggle, which seems like a paradox in
learning, let’s step back and frame the conversation of this module using earth and
space science. Astronomers and astrobiologists have long sought to discover other
planetary bodies that either contained life or possessed the necessary conditions to
sustain life. This pursuit in earth and space science is the inspiration for some pretty
awesome movies. But we digress. In 1913, astronomer Edward Maunder introduced
the concept of a circumstellar habitable zone, simply referred to as the habitable
zone. The habitable zone is the range of orbits around a star within which planets
have the necessary conditions to support liquid water (see Lorenz, 2020).

Too Hot

Just Right

Too Cold

In other words, the distance between the star and the planets is not too hot, not too
cold, but just right for liquid water. And, as you have already guessed, another name
for the habitable zone is the Goldilocks Zone. While the Goldilocks Zone was origi-
nally developed to describe the conditions on planetary objects, this same idea can be
applied to the learning experiences or tasks in our schools and classrooms.
99
100 Module 10

Let’s revise Edward Maunder’s original concept to help us better understand the
­concept of productive struggle. If the center of the concentric circles was revised to be
a learning task or experience, how would you revise the descriptors of the three areas
beyond the learning task or experience?

Learning Task or Experience

1.

2.

3.

As we have noted, three types of student learning are in focus in this playbook: declar-
ative, procedural, and conditional. We have to plan, design, and implement tasks and
experiences that provide students with opportunities to acquire, consolidate, and store
this learning, as well as the flexibility to return to different aspects of the learning when
necessary (e.g., additional encoding, retrieval and practice, cognitive load challenges).
The level of struggle in each learning task or experience matters as students move
forward in their learning. Thus, to provide tasks and experiences that fall within the
Goldilocks Zone (i.e., productive struggle), we have to balance the difficulty and com-
plexity experienced by each of our students. In other words, the task or experience
cannot be too hard and not too boring. Productive struggle is a promising principle of
how we learn (see Figure 10.1).

 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING ON

A
10.1
PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

or Practice:
Productive Struggle

What is productive? What does this How do I translate the

What does it mean look like in research on productive
to engage learners preK–12 struggle into my own
in productive classrooms? classroom?
struggle? How will I know that
What does the this promising principle
research say about or practice had an
productive impact on my
struggle? learners?
 Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle 101

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about productive struggle and I will know we have successfully completed this
how to engage learners in this type of struggle module when
improves student learning.
•• I can compare and contrast productive and
unproductive struggle.
•• I can describe how to engage learners in
struggle that improves learning.
•• I can develop specific ways to apply research
on productive struggle in my classroom and
evaluate the impact of this application.

Let’s revisit an earlier sentence regarding productive struggle:

To provide tasks and experiences that fall within the Goldilocks Zone, we have
to balance the difficulty and complexity experienced by each of our students.

Circle, underline, or highlight specific words or phrases that grab your attention in the above sentence. The
implications of this statement on learning by design cannot be overlooked. Use the space provided to develop
some questions you have after rereading the above sentence.
102 Module 10

These questions will help us focus on the next part of this module. For example, you
may have written down questions like

1. What is productive struggle?

2. Is this different for every learner?
3. What is the difference between difficulty and complexity?

We will tackle these three questions and more.

WHAT IS PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE?

Productive struggle occurs when the complexity and difficulty of the task or experience
are challenging enough so that the learner must devote significant cognitive resources
to make progress in that task or experience, but is provided the necessary supports
and scaffolds to prevent frustration or discouragement. Barbara Blackburn describes
productive struggle as the learner’s sweet spot (Blackburn, 2018). Whether you pre-
fer the learner’s sweet spot or operating within the Goldilocks Zone, productive strug-
gle means different things to different learners. For example, what is complex for one
PRODUCTIVE
learner may not be as complex for another. What is difficult for some students may not
STRUGGLE MEANS be as difficult for others. Being clear about what is meant by complexity and difficulty
DIFFERENT THINGS is the first step in finding the Goldilocks Zone for our learners. Use the space below to
TO DIFFERENT create your own definitions or descriptions of complexity and difficulty. What do you
LEARNERS. think these two terms mean?

Complexity Difficulty

Complexity describes the level of thinking required to engage in the learning task or
experience. For example, identifying author’s craft or purpose is less cognitively com-
plex than comparing and contrasting two pieces of writing across multiple elements—
especially if both pieces of writing are new to the learners. Similarly, analyzing a
historical document for purpose, message, and audience represents greater cognitive
complexity than describing the document.
 Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle 103

Complexity = Thinking

Difficulty, then, describes the amount of effort required to engage in the learning task or
experience, accomplish the task, and meet the expected learning intention and success
criteria. Responding to 25 questions about a text passage contains a greater degree
of difficulty than responding to one or two questions. Likewise, working on three or
four multistep mathematics problems is less difficult than working through 30 multistep
mathematics problems, saying nothing about the complexity of the task.

Difficulty = Effort

Take a moment and return to your original definitions or descriptions of complexity and
difficulty. What edits or revisions would you make to your first response?

The tasks and experiences that we plan, design, and implement to move learning for-
ward can be described in terms of both complexity and difficulty. In response to the
question How do we learn?, the answer is productive struggle. When both difficulty and
complexity are high, students are likely to struggle—and struggle is important to the
learning process. That’s not to say that all tasks and experiences should be a struggle
for students all the time, but rather that teachers should strategically place students in
situations that require struggle so that they can extend their learning.

Look back at the previous module on cognitive load. How does our learners’ cognitive load guide and inform
our decisions about productive struggle? Use the space provided to write down “things to consider” when
determining the limitations of learners engaged in productive struggle?

Look back even farther at the previous modules on attention and motivation. How does the research on
attention and motivation inform our decisions about productive struggle? Use the space provided to write
down “things to consider” when determining the limitations of learners engaged in productive struggle?
104 Module 10

online As we translate the promising principle of productive struggle into practice, one area of
resources
concern that may be on your mind is failure.
For more resources
related to productive
As Kapur (2008) noted, productive failure is an important consideration in effective
failure and designing for
productive failure, visit learning. Kapur (2014) further observed, “Learning from mistakes, errors, and failure
the companion website seems intuitive and compelling. Everyone can relate to it. But if failure is a powerful
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.
learning mechanism, why do we wait for it to happen? Why can’t we design for it, under-
stand how and when it works? What if designing for failure while learning a new con-
cept or skill could result in more robust learning?” (para. 1). For example, learners in a
high school physics class are working on an open-ended problem that asks them to
consider how the starting height and initial velocity of an object influence the projectile
motion of that object. They are provided multiple supplies (e.g., objects of different
masses, plastic tracking, measuring devices), but they are asked to design their own
experiments to answer the question. This is both a difficult and a complex task.

When students are engaged in productive struggle, they must constantly monitor their
conversations and progress toward completing the task or experiences; this allows us
to both identify a struggle and then determine what caused the struggle. Only then can
we identify appropriate “next steps” to reduce the cognitive overload as learners move
forward in that task or experience. This monitoring and purposeful intervention allows
teachers to engage learners in self-reflection, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation, which
requires additional practice and feedback to attain mastery, or fluency. We will unpack
feedback in the next module, so keep this aspect of productive struggle in your working
memory. To ensure you do not experience cognitive overload, please flip forward to the
next module and write the words “Productive Struggle” at the top of the page.

Productive struggle is important to how we learn, but students also require opportu-
nities to engage in retrieval and practice if they are going to develop proficiency or
mastery in specific declarative, procedural, or conditional learning.

Look back at the previous module on retrieval and practice. Use the space provided to write down “things
to consider” when learners are engaged in productive struggle. What does this have to do with retrieval and
practice?
 Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle 105

Using struggles to guide subsequent tasks and experiences offers learners the
­opportunity to engage in retrieval and practice. For example, if the struggle in the
previously mentioned physics class becomes unproductive (i.e., decreased attention,
motivation, and cognitive overload) because our learners do not have the prior knowl-
edge or background knowledge necessary for understanding the relationship between
horizontal and vertical motion in projectiles, we must provide additional learning tasks
and experiences. As you remember from Module 3, there are other reasons that struggle
becomes unproductive (Chew & Cerbin, 2020):

1. Learners may hold specific beliefs or have specific attitudes about a particular
subject or content area.
2. Learners may not yet have the skills for self-reflection, self-monitoring, and
self-evaluation.
3. Learners may have a fear about a particular class that may stem from a
mistrust of the teacher.
4. Learners may not have the necessary prior knowledge or background
knowledge to engage in productive struggle (e.g., unproductive struggle and
unproductive failure).
5. Learners may have misconceptions about the topic or specific content of the
task or experience.
6. Learners may not have the most effective learning strategies for engaging in
productive struggle.
7. Learners may not transfer previous learning to a new task or experience.
8. Learners may not pay attention and notice the necessary aspects of the task
or experience to successfully navigate the struggle.
9. Learners may experience cognitive overload while engaging in the task or
experience.

The challenges to learning by design will significantly impact learners’ willingness to

and capacity for engaging in productive struggle. As we design tasks and experiences
that incorporate productive struggle, we have to use the evidence that we generate
and gather about student learning. Before moving forward, flip back to your work in
Module 3 on page 35 and review your plan for how you will generate and gather evi-
dence for each challenge. Make edits, revisions, or add new ideas to your plan. We
will put this plan into action in the next section of this playbook. For now, let’s look at
productive struggle in action.

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
Productive struggle is about the quality of the learning task or experience, not the
quantity. This means we must intentionally, deliberately, and purposefully design our
106 Module 10

tasks and experiences to include elements that enhance the quality for all learners
based on what they need to move their learning forward. Some ideas include but are
not limited to

Access to complex text

A focus on extracting and leveraging evidence from text to

explain thinking

The opportunity to build background knowledge through

informational text

A balance between declarative, procedural, and conditional learning

Integrating the above elements across the disciplines

To look further into the application of productive struggle in the classroom, we want to
address what it is not—the misconceptions about productive struggle (see Figure 10.2).

10.2 MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE

Misconception Explanation

An abundance of Oftentimes, we falsely believe that providing an abundance of “things” for learners to do
homework or tasks at home with their parents, guardians, or caregivers is promoting productive struggle. This
expected to be completed promotes inequity for learners that do not have access to necessary resources outside
outside of the classroom of school.
provides productive
struggle.

More content is better. The coverage of more topics, tasks, and/or activities does not represent productive
struggle. This misconception sometimes leads to expecting learners to engage with
content, skills, and knowledge that they are not ready for yet.

Not all of our learners can Productive struggle is often set aside for certain learners that we perceive are capable of
handle productive struggle. handling it. Statements like “my students can’t do that” exemplify this misconception. This
reflects deficit thinking and denies some learners the access and opportunity to the highest
level of learning.

Scaffolding and support The task or experience does not have to be completed independently and without any help
lessen the impact of to be a productive struggle. In fact, the opposite is true. This misconception perpetuates
productive struggle. the internal belief of learners that “I should not ask for help.” Scaffolding and supporting are
essential components of all learning, for all learners.

Curricula and programs We often assume that the resources we are provided incorporate productive struggle.
provide productive Although this is not an unfair expectation, this is a misconception. We must analyze the
struggle. tasks and experiences within our available resources to make the necessary adaptations
for the local context of our classroom. Those curriculum writers and program developers
don’t know our students as well as we do.

Standards of learning Remember, standards tell us what to teach, not how. Productive struggle represents the
create productive struggle. “how” and should be informed by the “who.” The “who” in this case are our learners. Simply
put, standards do not automatically provide productive struggle, they create expectations
for learning. Productive struggle comes by design.

Source: Adapted from Blackburn (2018).

 Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle 107

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
Use the space below to map out your challenge or problem of practice. You can return
to Figure 10.2 for examples of productive struggle in your classroom that you might
want to focus on in this module.

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?
108 Module 10

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on productive struggle.
Refer back to the previous information in this module, if necessary.

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 10.2 for examples.
 Promising Principle 6: Productive Struggle 109

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I compare and contrast

productive and unproductive
struggle?

Can I describe how to engage

learners in struggle that
improves learning?

Can I develop specific ways to

apply research on productive
struggle in my classroom and
evaluate the impact of this
application?

Productive struggle requires effective feedback. It needs feedback at the right time, in
the right amount, and through the right modality to move learning forward. We turn our
attention to feedback before focusing on building learners’ capacity to leverage the
science of how they learn to take ownership of their own learning.
 11

PROMISING
PRINCIPLE 7:
FEEDBACK
Feedback is the glue that holds the acquisition, consolidation, and storage of learning
together. As learners progress in their learning journey, they acquire valuable infor-
mation about how that journey is progressing. In addition, they must have the oppor-
tunity to share feedback about what is and what is not moving their learning forward.
As we move into our final module and promising principle, we want to emphasize
that the promising practice of feedback is not a one-way practice. Research from the
science of learning on feedback suggests that the giving and receiving of feedback
is essential in amplifying learning (see Figure 11.1).

 FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING ON

A
11.1
FEEDBACK INTO A PROMISING PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

The Principle or In the Classroom Into Your Classroom

Practice: Feedback

What is feedback? What does this How do I translate

What are the look like in the research on
components of preK–12 feedback into my own
effective feedback? classrooms? classroom?
What does the How will I know that
research say about this promising principle
feedback and or practice had an
learning? impact on my learners?

110
 Promising Principle 7: Feedback 111

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the role of feedback in I will know we have successfully completed this
moving learning forward. module when

•• I can describe the characteristics and

components of effective feedback.
•• I can explain the reciprocal nature of effective
feedback in my classroom.
•• I can develop specific ways to enhance the
giving and receiving of feedback and evaluating
the impact on my students’ learning.

WHAT IS FEEDBACK AND

WHAT MAKES IT EFFECTIVE?
Feedback is defined as the exchange of evaluative or corrective information about an
action, event, or process and is the basis for improvement (Merriam-Webster, 2021c).
This exchange of information provides support for learners as they direct their time,
energy, and effort toward encoding, retrieval, and struggle. Feedback also supports
learners in managing the cognitive load (more on this in the upcoming modules).
Feedback only supports learning when the information is received and effectively
integrated into the learning experience or task. To effectively integrate feedback into
learning, the feedback must be received by the learner. To increase the likelihood that
feedback is received and has an impact on increasing learning, feedback must address
three very important questions for both the teacher and the learners (Hattie, 2012):

1. Where are we going?

2. How are we going?
3. Where do we go next?

Recall several exchanges of feedback between you and your learners. Did your learn-
ers integrate the feedback into their learning? If not, use the three questions above and
jot down some possible reasons with your feedback that may not have been received
and integrated into the learning experience or task.

1.

2.

3.

4.
112 Module 11

As we mentioned in the opening of this module, the science of learning on feedback

suggests that the giving and receiving of feedback is essential in amplifying learning.
What opportunities do your learners have to share feedback about what is and what is
not moving their learning forward? How does this show up in each of the other promis-
ing principles and practices? Use the chart below to write down how your learners give
you feedback. The first one is done for you as an example.

Promising Principle or Practice Ways Learners Give Feedback

Motivation My learners do not sustain their engagement in the science laboratory; they did
not complete the questions at the end of the laboratory; they did not discuss the
underlying science phenomenon.

Attention

Elaborate Encoding

Retrieval and Practice

Cognitive Load

Productive Struggle

Feedback has a powerful impact on learning. For feedback to work, we and our learn-
ers must have clarity about

The expectations of the learning experience or task

The current level of performance (the learners)

Actions that we and our learners can take to close the gap.

The giving and receiving of feedback are designed to close the gap between learn-
ers’ current level of declarative, procedure, and conditional knowledge and the
expectations of where learners are going next in their learning journey. It is given to
learners so that they know where to go next in their learning and is received by us to
make decisions about where to go next in our instruction. Then, the feedback given
and received should specifically target what learners are expected to say and do to
demonstrate that they have met the expectations of the learning experience or task
(i.e., learning intentions and success criteria). This feedback should be customized to
support learners in closing the gap between their current level of declarative, proce-
dural, and conditional learning and the expectations. And finally, this feedback should
provide insight into where deliberate practice is needed to move learning forward.
Let’s look at four specific examples of learning intentions and success criteria. These
provide clarity about the expectations of the learning experience or task. Use the space
provided to describe the focus of the feedback.
 Promising Principle 7: Feedback 113

Learning Intentions Examples of Success Criteria Focus of the Feedback

Mathematics

We are learning about the role We can compare and contrast

of irrational numbers within the rational and irrational numbers.
number system. We can use a number line and
benchmark rational numbers to
model the approximate location
of irrational numbers on a
number line.

Science

I am learning about energy I can describe how matter

transfer in matter. changes from one form to
another.
I can use a phase diagram to
explain the processes of state
changes.

English Language Arts

I am learning about the I can describe the difference

relationship between author’s between author’s purpose and
purpose and author’s craft. author’s craft.
I can identify examples in my
reading.
I can explain the significance of
my examples.

Social Studies

We are learning about the We can describe contributions

contributions of Muslim scholars from Muslim scholars in the areas
and their impact on later of science and medicine.
civilizations. We can describe contributions
from Muslim scholars in the
areas of philosophy, art, and
literature.
We can describe contributions
from Muslim scholars in the area
of mathematics.

WHAT DOES THIS PRINCIPLE OR PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE IN THE CLASSROOM?
We have looked at the definition of feedback and guidelines for how to decide what
feedback to give and receive. Let’s turn our attention to what this giving and receiving
114 Module 11

would look like in the classroom (see Figure 11.2). There are two main features of effec-
tive feedback that allow us to translate this promising principle into a promising practice.

1. Focus on learning, not the individual. Effective feedback should focus on

online
resources the learning and not on the individual participating in the learning. Here’s
For more resources related an example: “My explanation of energy transfer in the water cycle needs
to feedback, visit the improving, not me as a person. My solution to the mathematics problem is
companion website at
wrong, but I am not a wrong person. My writing is not clear, but I am not a bad
resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks. writer. My understanding of the historical timeline is fuzzy, but I am not stupid.”
2. Feedback also needs to come at the right time, personalized for the specific
learner and their learning, and focus on moving learning forward.
3. Feedback should vary in terms of timing, amount, mode, and audience
(see Brookhart, 2008).

 XTRACTING PROMISING PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

E
11.2
FROM FEEDBACK RESEARCH TO THE CLASSROOM

Feedback Strategies
Can Vary in In These Ways . . . Examples and Things to Consider
Terms of . . .

Timing •• W
 hen the feedback is •• Provide immediate feedback for content (right/wrong).
given •• Delay feedback slightly for more mathematical practices
•• How often feedback is and science and engineering practices.
given •• Never delay feedback beyond when it would make a
difference in students’ learning in the moment.
•• Provide feedback as often as is practical for all processes,
tasks, and products.

Amount •• How many feedback •• Focus on those points that are directly related to the
points? success criteria.
•• How much information in •• Choose those points that are essential for closing the gap.
each point? •• Take into account the developmental stage of the learner
(e.g., kindergarteners compared to high school seniors).

Mode •• Oral •• Select the best mode for the message.

•• Written •• When possible, it is best to engage in dialogue and
•• Visual/demonstration questioning with the learner.
•• Give written feedback on written work.
•• Use teacher or student modeling if “how to do something”
is an issue or if the student needs an example.

Audience •• Individual •• Individual feedback says, “The teacher values my

•• Group/class learning.”
•• Group/class feedback works if most of the learners need
the feedback. If not, group/class feedback is not effective.
•• Would it suffice to make a comment when passing the
learners as they work on a problem or experiment?
•• Is a one-on-one conference better for providing feedback?
 Promising Principle 7: Feedback 115

Let’s look at specific examples of each of the variables in feedback to begin to see how
this would translate into our classrooms. Consider the following scenarios in Figure 11.3.
With your colleagues, identify which one is more effective and why.

 OMPARING TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

C
11.3
IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS AND SOCIAL STUDIES

Option 1 Option 2 Why?

An elementary teacher reads student The teacher reads student work and
writing samples and identifies provides written feedback to students.
common errors. She plans whole class Students are expected to review the
instruction on the use of reasons to feedback and revise their papers
support opinions because nearly every accordingly.
student in the class has neglected
to do so. She also plans small group
lessons for students who had other
errors in their writing, including tense,
subject-verb agreement, or the lack of
a clear opinion.

A history teacher uses an online A history teacher gives a weekly quiz

game to quiz students. He displays on Fridays, and students receive
a question and students select their their results on Mondays. They take a
response on their mobile phones. cumulative test at the end of the unit.
He then shows them the number of
students who selected each option,
asking them to talk with their partners
about the data. He then invites
students to respond to the question
again before showing them the
correct answer and asking them to
discuss why the incorrect answers are
not appropriate.

The key difference between each of the four examples is the availability of timely feed-
back about the students’ learning. Option 1 in each of the two examples suggests that
the teacher was setting up the learning experience for learners to give and receive
feedback at multiple points. These multiple points are identified by the success criteria.
In other words, the teachers in Option 1 offered the opportunity to give and receive
feedback as learners progressed from one success criterion to the next. Information
about learners’ performance within a specific timeframe allows them to use the infor-
mation for adjusting their pathway toward declarative, procedural, and conditional
learning. This supports where they should focus their attention, seek to elaborately
encode, and engage in deliberate practice. Without timely information, learners cannot
know where to go next and often continue moving forward, even if they are going in the
wrong direction (see Figure 11.4).
116 Module 11

 OMPARING TWO DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO GIVING AND RECEIVING FEEDBACK

C
11.4
IN MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE

Option 1 Option 2 Why?

A teacher confers with students as A teacher collects a problem-solving

they work on a problem-solving set set on rational expressions. He marks
of rational expressions. He asks which answers are not correct and
individual students and pairs of returns the problem-solving set to
students what they are working on. learners at the end of the week.
Listening to the students’ thinking
allows him to make a decision about
how to respond in that moment.
The teacher refers to his planned
questions, anticipated student
strategies, and the success criteria to
choose his response.

A teacher marks the incorrect A teacher returns a problem-solving

solutions in a problem-solving set on set on balancing equations to learners
balancing equations and returns the at the end of the week. She informs
set to learners at the end of the week. the students that these problems will
She asks them to partner up and be on the final test and they should
identify where they made mistakes in review this set before taking the test.
each incorrect solution. They are to
describe, in their own words, how they
would solve the problem differently in
the future.

Effective feedback must be specific about what additional steps will close the gap
between where learners are and where they are going.

Take a moment and recall the three questions associated with effective feedback. You
can look back to the beginning of this module if necessary.

1.

2.

3.

Comparing and contrasting the above examples, Option 1 provides specific information
to learners that relates to declarative, procedural, and conditional learning. Learners
could use the information in Option 1 to identify how they were going and where they
needed to go next in their learning. Students then have information that allows them
to mind the learning gap. In addition, Option 1 is constructive in nature. By being con-
structive, feedback serves a very useful purpose: moving learning forward. If the goal
in each of our schools and classrooms is growth and achievement in learning, con-
structive feedback supports students as they progress in their learning. Growth implies
 Promising Principle 7: Feedback 117

that all of our students may not be where they need to be today, but they are farther
along today than they were yesterday. Constructive feedback makes the journey about
learning, not the individual.

HOW DO WE IMPLEMENT THIS PRINCIPLE

AND PRACTICE INTO OUR CLASSROOMS?
CONSTRUCTIVE
Use the space below to map out your challenge or problem of practice. You can return
to Figures 11.2, 11.3, and 11.4 for examples of the giving and receiving of effective feed- FEEDBACK MAKES
back in your classroom that you might want to focus on in this module. In the upcom- THE JOURNEY ABOUT
ing modules, we will explore how to incorporate peer-to-peer feedback. For now, let’s LEARNING, NOT THE
focus on giving and receiving feedback between us and our learners. INDIVIDUAL.

Challenge or Problem of Practice:

What evidence do you have that this is a challenge or problem of practice with your learners (e.g.,
observations, conversations, entrance tickets, exit tickets, attendance data, assignment submission)?
118 Module 11

Describe the promising principle or practice you want to use.

Link the promising principle or practice to research from the science of learning on feeback. Refer back to
the previous information in this module, if necessary.

Describe, in as much detail as possible, how you will implement this promising principle or practice. Again,
refer back to Figure 11.2 for examples.
 Promising Principle 7: Feedback 119

How will you collaborate with your accountability partner, instructional coach, or PLC+ team to determine if
your promising principle or practice worked? What evidence would convince you and your colleagues that
the principle or practice did not work?

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”

Show
Know (Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”)

Can I describe the

characteristics and
components of effective
feedback?

Can I explain the reciprocal

nature of effective feedback in
my classroom?

Can I develop specific ways

to enhance the giving and
receiving of feedback and
evaluating the impact on my
students’ learning?
120 Module 11

WHERE TO NEXT?
Over the past seven modules, we have explored seven promising principles and trans-
lated them into potential and promising practices in our classrooms. Each module
offered opportunities to adapt these practices for use in your classroom, the local con-
text. Furthermore, the successful implementation of these promising practices is driven
by us and our students gathering evidence of impact on learning. With that being said,
we are now going to make a major transition in this playbook. Starting with the next
module, we will begin to explore how to build the capacity and efficacy of our students
as they move beyond the specific learning experiences and outside of our classrooms.
We want our students to take ownership of their learning and know what to do to
move their learning forward when we are no longer their teacher. Return to page 6 in
the introduction of this playbook. Building capacity and efficacy in our students through
the explicit teaching of learning strategies supports learners by the following:

Retrieve the four characteristics of self-regulated learners.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Here we go!
 A RT
P

III

I n t h i s s e c t i o n :
Module 12. Explicit Strategy Instruction

Module 13. Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting

Module 14. Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge

Module 15. Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing

Module 16. Learning Strategy 4: Mapping

Module 17. Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing

Module 18. Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation

121
 12

EXPLICIT STRATEGY
INSTRUCTION
Do our learners know what to do when they don’t know what to do, and we are
not around? This question serves as the impetus for the remaining modules of the
playbook. One of the most exciting findings from the growing body of research on
teaching and learning is that “when students become their own teachers, they exhibit
the self-regulatory attributes that seem most desirable for learners: self-monitoring,
self-evaluation, self-assessment, and self-teaching” (Hattie, 2012, p. 14). For our
­learners to become their own teachers, they must develop the characteristics of an
assessment-capable learner (Frey et al., 2018).

FOR OUR LEARNERS

Assessment-capable learners
TO BECOME THEIR
OWN TEACHERS, THEY 1. Know their current level of understanding. They are aware of what they
MUST DEVELOP THE already know, understand, and are able to do and what is going to be
CHARACTERISTICS challenging for them to learn.
OF AN ASSESSMENT- 2. Know where they are going next in their learning and are ready to take
CAPABLE LEARNER. on the challenge. They are clear about the learning intention, success
criteria, and the expectations of the task or experience. They have the self-
efficacy to persist in the face of a challenge.
3. Select the right tools to help move their learning forward. They have
effective learning strategies and know when to use them. They also know
what to do when they “get stuck.”
4. Seek feedback and recognize that errors are opportunities for learning.
They ask for feedback from both us and their peers, integrating that
feedback into their learning.
5. Monitor their learning progress, making adjustments when necessary.
They use the learning intentions, success criteria, expectations of the task
or experience, and feedback to make decisions about where to go next in
their learning.
6. Recognize their learning and support their peers in their learning
progression. They learn from their peers and teach their peers when they
need additional learning.

122
 Explicit Strategy Instruction 123

Take a moment and reflect on these six characteristics. Using the space provided,
where are your learners in their journey to assessment capability?

What Does This Mean Where Are My Learners

in My Classroom? in This Part of the Journey?

1. Know their current level of

understanding.

2. Know where they are going next

in their learning and are ready to
take on the challenge.

3. Select the right tools to help move

their learning forward.

4. Seek feedback and recognize

that errors are opportunities for
learning.

5. Monitor their learning progress,

making adjustments when
necessary.

6. Recognize their learning and

support their peers in their
learning progression.

Although each of these characteristics is essential in students developing into self-

regulating learners, one of these will serve as the focus for the remaining modules of
this playbook. Please circle, highlight, or underline number 3. The promising princi-
ples and practices unpacked in the previous modules should not just be done to our
students. We should explicitly teach learners how to use effective learning techniques
in their own individual learning. Again, we want our learners to know what to do when
they don’t know what to do, and we are not around!
124 Module 12

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the specific strategies that I will know we have successfully completed this
support student learning. module when

•• I can identify effective learning techniques that

will support student learning.
•• I can explain the role of gradual release of
responsibility in explicit strategy instruction.
•• I can evaluate the readiness of my learners for
explicit strategy instruction.

WE SHOULD Take a moment and return to Module 1, page 20. As you may recall, you were asked
EXPLICITLY TEACH to use the blank pie chart to color in the percentage that reflects your belief about the
responsibility for learning that falls to the teacher and the percentage of responsibility
LEARNERS HOW TO
for learning that falls to the student. The example provided was based on the belief that
USE EFFECTIVE
90% of the responsibility falls to the teacher and 10% falls to the learner.
LEARNING
TECHNIQUES IN THEIR
OWN INDIVIDUAL
10ƒ
LEARNING.

90ƒ

Teacher Student

Let’s revisit this in light of our own learning across the 12 modules. How would you
divide up the responsibility for learning now? Color in and label your current belief.
 Explicit Strategy Instruction 125

Did your response change from Module 1 to now? If so, why? If not, why not? Take a
moment and add your reflection in the box below.

THE GRADUAL RELEASE

OF RESPONSIBILITY
Hopefully, the dividing up of responsibility is not all placed on us as the teacher. Instead,
this proportion should change as learners develop proficiency in their self-monitoring,
self-evaluation, self-assessment, and, finally, self-teaching. Early on in their learning
journey, students will likely need more support and scaffolding in their learning. This is
true in declarative, procedural, and conditional learning, as well as their selection of the
right tools to move their learning forward.

Flip back to Module 3, pages 33 and 35. One significant barrier to learning is
the use of ineffective learning strategies. Take a moment and review that particular
barrier and practices for overcoming that barrier. Use the space below to write down
your thoughts.

Summarize This Particular Barrier

Potential Practices for
Ineffective Learning Strategies in Your Own Words—Provide Some
Overcoming This Barrier
Examples From Your Own Classroom
126 Module 12

12.1 GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR STRATEGY INSTRUCTION

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”: The teacher models the learning strategy

during instruction (explicit instruction).

“WE DO”: The teacher and

the students use the learning
strategy (guided instruction).

“YOU ALL DO”: The students

use the learning strategy in
a collaborative setting
(cooperative learning).

“YOU DO”: The students use the

learning strategy independently
(independent learning).

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

online To overcome ineffective learning strategies, we must explicitly teach learners how to
resources
use effective learning techniques in their own individual learning. However, this requires
For more resources related to more than just “doing” promising practices in class. Learners must have opportunities
ineffective learning strategies,
visit the companion website to practice and reflect on the use of the practices to ultimately use them on their own.
at resources.corwin.com/ This is best done using the gradual release of responsibility (see Figure 12.1).
howlearningworks.
As you look over Figure 12.1, there are three key components that we would like you to
add to this model.

Practice
Feedback
Shift in Responsibility

Please place those three components where you think they should go in Figure 12.1.
Keep in mind, they may be placed in multiple locations.

Opportunities for practice and feedback drive the gradual release of responsibility
and allow for the transition from one stage to the next. In other words, practice and
feedback fill the space between “I DO,” “WE DO,” “YOU ALL DO,” and “YOU DO.” Only
then will we experience the shift in responsibility that is most prominent between “WE
DO” and “YOU ALL DO.” This approach to explicit strategy instruction will drive our
conversations over the next several modules. But before that, we must generate a
list of practices that qualify as effective learning strategies or techniques. Based on
how we learn, what learning strategies or techniques should we explicitly teach in our
classrooms?
 Explicit Strategy Instruction 127

EFFECTIVE LEARNING PRACTICES

If asked, we could create a robust list of learning strategies. However, the effective-
ness of each of the strategies on our list would vary. The science of how we learn has
provided both promising principles and practices that allow us to look at learning strat-
egies through the lens of what works best. Consider the following list of learning strate-
gies. For each strategy, indicate whether you think that strategy is effective, ineffective,
or unsure (e.g., don’t know what the strategy is or does for learners).

Elaborative Interrogation Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Self-Explanation Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Summarization Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Highlighting Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Mnemonics Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Goal Setting Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Imagery Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Integrating Prior Knowledge Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Rereading Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Practice Testing Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Spaced Practice Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Concept Mapping Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Self-Teaching Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

Self-Enacting Effective    Ineffective    Unsure

We will unveil the answers as we move through the next several modules. For now, online
resources
mark this page so that we can return to your responses as we unpack each one of these
strategies. It’s important to emphasize that research on how we learn has provided For more resources related
to strategies promoting
incredible insight into both classroom practices and strategies that support learners’ generative learning, visit
attributes of self-regulation in learning. Our focus now is to take the promising princi- the companion website
ples from the previous modules and explicitly teach these strategies to our learners at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.
using the gradual release of responsibility.

A RETURN TO GERMANE COGNITIVE LOAD

Before we transition out of this module and begin to look at individual learning strategies
or techniques, we want to return to an earlier concept and explicitly link that concept to
effective learning practices and the explicit instruction of those learning practices.
128 Module 12

Learning can be activated or hindered if we are not cognizant of our learners’ cognitive
load. Take a moment and fill in the missing terms in the below image. If you find yourself
“stuck,” flip back to Module 9 for a quick review.

___________ + _____________ + Germane Load

________ ________ ________

Use the space provided and describe germane cognitive load.

Effective learning strategies and techniques that move learning forward maximize ger-
mane cognitive load. At the same time, those strategies must support learners’ man-
agement of intrinsic cognitive load and their minimizing of extraneous cognitive load. If
germane cognitive load comes from our learners engaging in the active processing of
declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge, our learning strategies must foster,
nurture, and sustain that processing. Active, not passive. Generative, not repetitive.
Fiorella and Mayer (2015) state

. . . generative learning involves the learner engaging in appropriate cognitive

processing during learning, including selecting relevant incoming material
to attend to, organizing the material into a coherent cognitive structure in
working memory, and integrating it with relevant prior knowledge activated
from long-term memory. Learning is a generative activity when learners
actively generate their own learning outcomes by interpreting what is
presented to them rather than simply receiving it as presented. (p. viii)
online
resources

For more resources related As we close out this module and get ready for a closer look at learning strategies
to study activities that foster and techniques associated with attention and motivation, use this closing task to con-
generative learning, visit nect several concepts and ideas. On the next page, develop a connection between
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ germane cognitive load, generative learning, and Wittrock’s generative processes
howlearningworks. (see Module 7).
 Explicit Strategy Instruction 129

Summarize each concept in your own words (use specific examples to support your description)

Germane Cognitive Load Generative Learning Wittrock’s Generative Processes

How are these three concepts similar?

How are these three concepts different?

Information on how we learn is not simply reserved for us as teachers. The promising
practices generated from the promising principles of attention, motivation, elaborate
encoding, retrieval and practice, cognitive load, productive struggle, and feedback can
and should be explicitly taught to our students so that they can apply them to their own
learning beyond our classroom. These are the tools that support the self-regulatory
attributes of learners. Let’s start with explicitly supporting learners in self-regulating
their attention and motivation.
130 Module 12

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
However, try something a bit different. Attach student work samples, comments, or
feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
Know
“shows what you know”; include student
work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I identify effective

learning techniques that will
support student learning?

Can I explain the role

of gradual release of
responsibility in explicit
strategy instruction?

Can I evaluate the readiness

of my learners for explicit
strategy instruction?

As a quick aside, have you noticed how we have modeled each of the principles and
practices throughout the playbook? That is by design—more on that later.
 13

LEARNING STRATEGY 1:
GOAL SETTING
Motivating our students to engage in their learning, take ownership of their own prog-
ress, and then apply what they have learned beyond the walls of our classrooms is a
key component in the science of how we learn. Each of the promising principles and online
resources
practices in this playbook makes an implicit assumption about our students: that they
are motivated learners. This observation is worth repeating; most studies in education, For more resources related
to motivation, visit
especially in the science of learning, assume a motivated learner. We know this is not the companion website
always the case and thus devote time to motivating our students to engage, own, and at resources.corwin.com/
apply their learning. howlearningworks.

Take a moment and retrieve the factors that contribute to the motivation of learners.
Use the space below to record your thinking. If you need additional support, flip back
to your work in Module 5.

The factors you listed above are likely factors that you have control over and implement
in your classroom.

131
132 Module 13

But remember, this part of the playbook is focusing on the explicit instruction of strat-
egies that allow learners to exhibit the self-regulatory attributes that seem most desir-
able for learners: self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-assessment, and self-teaching. In
other words, how do we begin to transfer the responsibility of motivation from solely
our responsibility as the teacher to the responsibility of the learner? One approach is to
explicitly teach our students to set a learning goal, develop a plan for meeting that goal,
and monitor their progress toward the goal.

The learning strategy in this module is goal setting.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about goal setting and how it I will know we have successfully completed this
supports student learning. module when

•• I can describe the benefits of goal setting.

•• I can explain how goal setting supports motivation
along with the other promising principles.
•• I can map out a process for implementing goal
setting in my classroom.

THE BENEFITS OF GOAL SETTING

To move from being motivated to self-motivation, learners must

1. Tap into their own interests and passions

online
resources
2. Believe that their efforts will pay off in both the short term and long term
For more resources related
to effort being contagious, 3. Link their efforts to specific outcomes
visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ 4. Focus on developing competency, mastery, and deeper understanding
howlearningworks.
5. Be around other individuals who experience success from their efforts
(Desender et al., 2016).

Therefore, goal setting must focus on both the specific needs of the learners and the
learners’ interests and passions. For example, some goals might zero in on specific
declarative, procedural, and conditional learning that the student needs to move for-
ward in their learning (e.g., use a wider range of color in their artwork, include more
details in their scientific arguments, provide more links between social, cultural, politi-
cal, and economic characteristics in human geography, or develop a spaced-out study
schedule for the upcoming mathematics test). Other goals may integrate students’
interests and passions into their learning (e.g., selecting nonfiction texts based on a
love of dolphins or U.S. presidents in a unit on text features).
 Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting 133

Goal setting should also include opportunities for teacher and peer feedback so that
learners have opportunities to reflect on, monitor, and evaluate their progress toward
the goal. While goal setting is a major contributor to motivating our learners, this strat-
egy will also support the application of the other principles and practices as well. Use
the space provided to describe how you think goal setting benefits motivation, atten-
tion, elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice, cognitive load, productive struggle, and
feedback. You may need to flip back to earlier modules. “Feedback” is done for you as
an example.

GOAL SETTING

Motivation

Attention

Elaborate Encoding

Retrieval and
Practice

Cognitive Load

Productive Struggle

Feedback Effective feedback answers three questions for the learner (see
Module 11): where am I going, how am I going, and where do I go
next? The learners’ goals clearly define the appropriate answers
to these three questions for the teacher and peers giving
feedback. The learners’ goals, action plan, and monitoring allow
learners to answer these three questions for themselves.
134 Module 13

GETTING READY FOR GOAL SETTING

What makes a good goal? We have all set goals for ourselves that did absolutely nothing
to motivate us or even prompt us to act out of obligation. We have also set goals that
moved us to focus intently on the outcome, not out of obligation, but out of joy and excite-
ment. What’s the difference? Well, some goals are smart, others are not. Let us explain.

online In 1981, George Doran introduced the acronym and concept of a S.M.A.R.T. goal. If you
resources
are like us, you are shocked that something so commonly referenced in schools and
For more resources related
to the original S.M.A.R.T. goal classrooms can be traced back to the source. For George Doran, he simply developed
article and to motivation an acronym that supported the growth and development of a company. A S.M.A.R.T.
and knowing why, visit goal, as pointed out by Doran (1981), “enabled an organization to focus on problems,
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ and give the company a sense of direction . . . (p. 35).”
howlearningworks.
That’s exactly what we want our learners to do: (1) focus on their learning; (2) provide a
sense of direction about where and how to move forward in their learning. These are
two important aspects of a goal. Students must know what it is they are aiming for and
why this particular “aim” is important or is of value to the learner and their learning.

You likely noticed the addition of two letters, E and R. Since Doran’s initial conceptualiza-
tion of a S.M.A.R.T. goal, evaluate and re-evaluate have been added to the goal-setting
process. Use the space below and explain why these two additional components are
both necessary and important in the goal-setting process.
 Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting 135

Example

S: Specific What is the specific declarative, Elementary School Mathematics: I want to work on solving
procedural, and conditional two-digit subtraction problems with regroup.
learning outcome? For a goal to High School Social Studies: I want to identify parallels
focus the learner on the “what” between the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Civil
and “why” of learning, the goal Rights Movement.
must be directed toward a specific
area needing improvement.

M: Measurable In addition to specific, a goal must Elementary School Mathematics: I will know I have met my
be measurable so that learners goal when I am able to explain my solution, evaluate the
can determine where they are in reasonableness of my solution, and make revisions to my
progress toward the goal. solution when I am not correct.
High School Social Studies: I will know I have met my goal by
developing a comparative essay of these two time periods.

A: A
 ttainable and A goal must be challenging, yet Elementary School Mathematics: I will choose the math
Ambitious realistic. Progress toward meeting center twice each week during center time. I will do this for
the goal should involve productive three weeks.
struggle (see Module 10). High School Social Studies: I will use my advisory period to
devote time to this project. I will also meet with the School
Media Specialist at the beginning and end of each week to
ensure I have the necessary resources.

R: Reason As mentioned above, the goal Elementary School Mathematics: I want to get better at
must focus on a specific need or subtraction story problems because I had lots of questions
interest. about them during math block last week.
High School Social Studies: I want to be more aware of
issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in my
own city.

T: Timely There must be time restraints on Elementary School Mathematics: I will reach my goal by the
the goal to support reflecting, end of the quarter.
refining, and reviewing of the High School Social Studies: I will reach my goal by the end of
goal. the third week of this unit.

E: Evaluate The goal must encourage Elementary School Mathematics: I will conference with my
monitoring, reflecting, and teacher once a week and have work samples to share
evaluating. There must be points with him.
for checking in to assess progress High School Social Studies: I have set up meetings with my
toward the goal. social studies teacher twice a week to get feedback on my
research and writing. I also have a classmate that has agreed
to read my writing.

R: Re-Evaluate Evaluation must be continuous. Elementary School Mathematics: I will decide what problems
The goal must be re-evaluated to try next after each conference.
during the process so that High School Social Studies: I will make edits and revisions
learners are able to make based on the feedback I receive from my teacher and
adjustments along the way. classmate.
136 Module 13

S.M.A.R.T.E.R. Goal
Name _______________________________________ Date _____________________

Description Teacher Feedback

S: Specific

M: Measurable

A: Attainable and
Ambitious

R: Reason

T: Timely

E: Evaluate

R: Re-Evaluate

Source: Adapted from Fisher et al. (2019).

 Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting 137

THE PROCESS OF GOAL SETTING

Now that we have looked at the benefits of goal setting and unpacked what makes a
good goal, let’s develop the process for explicitly teaching this learning strategy to our
students (see Figure 13.1).

13.1 THE GOAL-SETTING PROCESS

Learners must first Learners develop a plan Learners establish a

identify and unpack for action that will guide timeline for reflecting,
their goal using the their progress toward refining, and revising
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. acronym. meeting their goal. the goal.

The template on the previous page provides a format for the first part of the goal-setting
process. This template can be used as we gradually release the responsibility of goal
setting to our learners. For example, we might begin by setting a class S.M.A.R.T.E.R.
goal and explicitly teaching this part of the process. From there, the template can be
used for collaborative and then individual S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals (see Figure 13.2).

13.2 GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR GOAL SETTING

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”: The teacher models the creation

of a S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal, explicitly teaching
the process.

“WE DO”: The teacher and

the students create a class
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal.

“YOU ALL DO”: The

students create a small group
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal for
cooperative learning.

“YOU DO”: The students

create their own individual
S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal.

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

138 Module 13

Take a moment and map out how you will explicitly teach goal setting to your learners.
Make sure to not only map out the gradual release of responsibility, but include a poten-
tial timeline for this release, opportunities for practice, and feedback. Start with when
you want learners to independently develop their own S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goals and then
walk it back. Use the space provided to accomplish this task.

The second part of the goal-setting process is the development of a plan for action.
This includes, but is not limited to, an overview of the plan, identifying the necessary
resources, and specific ways to monitor progress and evaluate that progress.

Overview of the Plan This part of the plan for action should deconstruct the goal into
small, measurable chunks that help learners believe that their
efforts will pay off in both the short-term and long-term and link
their efforts to specific outcomes.

Resources Learners should first develop a list of resources they believe

they will need during their work on the goal. However, this part
of the plan will be revised frequently during the work toward
the goal.

Progress Monitoring This describes how and when progress will be monitored
during the work toward the goal. Learners, in collaboration
with their teachers, should specify these check-ins, what will
specifically be done, and who will support them.

Evaluation This part of the plan for action simply defines how the learner
GOAL SETTING MUST will evaluate their success and where to go next in his or her
FOCUS ON BOTH learning.
THE SPECIFIC NEEDS
OF THE LEARNERS The plan for action can be implemented using an interactive document or kept in the
AND THE LEARNERS’ learners’ portfolios, interactive notebooks, or personal files in the classroom. This plan
INTERESTS AND is meant to be visited frequently and revised often. The template for this plan of action
PASSIONS. is meant to be implemented gradually, just like the creation of the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. goal.
 Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting 139

PLAN FOR ACTION

Name _____________________________________ Date ____________________

Overview of the Plan What are the specific steps to reaching my goal?

Resources What resources do I need to support my learning and progress toward my goal?

Progress Monitoring How will I monitor my progress toward my learning goal? Who will support that monitoring?

Evaluation When and how will I evaluate my learning? What will the next steps be in my learning?

Source: Adapted from Fisher et al. (2019).

140 Module 13

Take a moment and map out how you will explicitly teach learners to develop a plan of
action. Again, start with when you want learners to independently develop their own
plans for action and then walk it back. Use the space provided to accomplish this task.
Be sure to include time for practice, feedback, and the shift in responsibility.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

The final part of the goal-setting process is the continual revising, refining, and revisiting
of the goal. Returning to the table on page 133 of this module, goal setting incorporates
other promising principles and practices. Elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice,
cognitive load, productive struggle, and feedback are all components of this particular
learning strategy. That is exactly why this is the first strategy we address in this play-
book. Flip back to page 127 in Module 12. Make sure that you circled, underlined, or
highlighted effective beside goal setting.

Much like the plan for action, this part of the goal-setting process can be implemented
using an interactive document or kept in the learners’ portfolios, interactive note-
books, or personal files in the classroom. This is also meant to be visited frequently
and revised often.
 Learning Strategy 1: Goal Setting 141

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
Attach student work samples, comments, or feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
Know
“shows what you know”; include student
work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I describe the benefits

of goal setting?

Can I explain how goal

setting supports motivation
along with the other
promising principles?

Can I map out a process for

implementing goal setting
in my classroom?
 14

LEARNING STRATEGY 2:
INTEGRATING PRIOR
KNOWLEDGE
Let’s start this module off with a thought experiment. Imagine if someone arrived at
your door with a reusable grocery bag containing the following items:

1. 1 dozen eggs

2. 7 coat hangers

3. A bag of mulch

4. The latest edition of your favorite magazine

5. A bar of soap

What would you do with these items if you had no choice but to accept and keep all of
them? Be specific.

Now consider the following items from the standards of learning for high school World
History (Virginia Department of Education, 2016):

1. Italy was the most commercially advanced, urbanized, literate area of high and
later medieval Europe.

2. The remains of ancient Rome were most visible in Italy.

3. Italy’s wealth, literacy, and pride in its Roman past provided the foundations of
the Italian Renaissance.

4. Wealth accumulated from European trade with the Middle East led to the rise
of Italian city-states. Wealthy merchants were active civic leaders.

5. Machiavelli observed city-state rulers of his day and produced guidelines for
the acquisition and maintenance of power by absolute rule.

142
 Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge 143

What would you do with these items if you were told you had to keep and remember
all of them?

Use the space provided to reflect on this thought experiment. What is the point of this
experiment? What is the big idea or message of this thought experiment?

In the box above, our guess is that you made some reference or comment about know-
ing what to do with the first set of items, but not sure about what to do with the second
set of items. Specifically, you have specific locations for placing eggs (the refrigerator),
coat hangers (a closet), mulch (anywhere outside), a magazine (on a table), and soap
(near a sink). In your mind, you likely thought of specific locations that made the acqui-
sition, consolidation, and storage of those items relatively easy. So what happened with
the second set of items?

For many of us, that list was unclear, overwhelming, and generated more questions
than answers. Unless you are a social studies teacher, acquiring, consolidating, and
storing those five items would prove to be quite difficult. The answer lies in our prior
knowledge and how prior knowledge facilitates the acquisition, consolidation, and stor-
age of new learning.

In the space below, generate your own explanation of how integrating prior knowledge
supports learning. The opening thought experiment should help you generate your
explanation.
144 Module 14

We must explicitly teach our students to integrate their prior knowledge into new
declarative, procedural, and conceptual learning.

The learning strategy in this module is integrating prior knowledge into new
learning.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the role prior knowledge I will know we have successfully completed this
plays in new learning. module when

•• I can describe the benefits of learners activating

their prior knowledge.
•• I can explain how activating prior knowledge
supports selective attention along with the other
promising principles.
•• I can map out a process for implementing time
for learners to activate their prior knowledge in
my classroom.

THE BENEFITS OF INTEGRATING

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Integrating prior knowledge into new learning supports learners in attending to the
most relevant content, skills, and understandings during a learning experience or task.

online This includes things they already know, things that they don’t know yet, and things that
resources
they are not quite sure about in this new learning. When learners self-monitor, self-
For more resources related reflect, and self-evaluate how what they already know relates to what they are learning
to prior knowledge, visit
now, they are better at discerning what is relevant and irrelevant, and then hold that
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ attention until a specific goal or outcome is accomplished.
howlearningworks.
Return to Module 6. We looked at three specific factors that influence our attention. List
them here:

1.
2.
3.
 Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge 145

Integrating prior knowledge into new learning supports learners as they make meaning
of their new learning, while at the same time it retrieves previous learning. Make sure
you circled effective for this strategy in Module 12. While integrating prior knowledge
supports the selective attention of our learners, this strategy will also support the appli-
online
cation of the other principles and practices as well. resources

For more resources related

Use the space provided to describe how you think integrating prior knowledge benefits to how knowledge helps,
motivation, attention, elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice, cognitive load, pro- visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
ductive struggle, and feedback. You may need to flip back to earlier modules. “Retrieval howlearningworks.
and Practice” is done for you as an example.

INTEGRATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE INTO NEW LEARNING

Motivation

Attention

Elaborate Encoding

Retrieval and Practice Retrieval and practice is the reconstructing of prior

knowledge, skills, and understandings. When learners
purposefully, intentionally, and deliberately integrate prior
knowledge into new learning, they are engaging in retrieval
and practice of that prior knowledge. Thus, this action is
beneficial for both prior and new learning.

Cognitive Load

Productive Struggle

Feedback
146 Module 14

GETTING READY TO INTEGRATE

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Let’s try another experiment. Please read the following passage.

The procedure is actually quite simple. First, you arrange things into different
groups depending on their makeup. Of course, one pile may be sufficient
depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due
to lack of facilities, that is the next step; otherwise, you are pretty well set. It is
important not to overdo any particular endeavor. That is, it is better to do too
few things at once than too many. In the short run, this may not seem important,
but complications from doing too many can easily arise. A mistake can be
expensive as well. The manipulation of the appropriate mechanisms should be
self-explanatory, and we need not dwell on it here. At first, the whole procedure
will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life.
It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate
future, but then one never can tell. (Seidenberg & Farry-Thorn, 2020)

Return to the passage and circle, underline, or highlight what you think are the most
online important pieces of information from this passage. Much like the opening example of
resources
this module, the task of identifying the important information was difficult and likely lead
For more resources related
to the “Baseball Study”
to you simply picking things just to get through the task. But what if I told you that this
and clarity, visit the passage was about doing the laundry? Now if you were to go back and circle, under-
companion website at line, and highlight the most important pieces of information, would this be different
resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.
knowing that the passage is about doing laundry?

The context of the learning strongly influences the way we attend to the content.
ENSURING THAT OUR Knowing the what, why, and how of the content sets the context of the learning. This
LEARNERS KNOW context is communicated through learning intentions, success criteria, and relevant
THE CONTEXT OF tasks and learning experiences. As part of the larger concept of teacher clarity, ensur-
THEIR LEARNING IS ing that our learners know the context of their learning is the first step in getting ready
THE FIRST STEP IN to integrate prior knowledge.
GETTING READY TO Use the space below to describe how you ensure your learners know the context of
INTEGRATE PRIOR their learning. What specific strategies do you use to communicate or share the what,
KNOWLEDGE. why, and how of learning?
 Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge 147

However, this is just the start. Simply throwing an objective on the board does not
guarantee that learners will attend to that objective or integrate prior learning. This
strategy must be explicitly taught, practiced, and supported in our classrooms.

A PROCESS FOR INTEGRATING

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE
Let’s look at a process for explicitly teaching this learning strategy to our students (see
Figure 14.1).

14.1 INTEGRATING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE

Create and share the Learners engage in an The teacher and learners
what, why, and how analysis of the what, reflect on the specific
of the learning why, and how that needs of the learners
(e.g., learning intentions identifies or retrieves before moving forward
and success criteria). prior knowledge. in the learning.

To move through this process, let’s start with a specific example. Returning to the World online
resources
History example at the beginning of this module, let’s start with a set of learning inten-
For more resources related
tions and success criteria from this classroom (see Figure 14.2).
to memory, visit the
companion website at
resources.corwin.com/
 XAMPLES OF LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA
E
14.2 howlearningworks.
FOR A WORLD HISTORY CLASS

Topic: The Renaissance in Europe

Learning Today, we are learning about the economic effects of the Crusades so
Intentions that we can understand the developments leading to the Renaissance.

Success We know we are successful in our learning when

Criteria •• We can describe specific economic effects of the Crusades.
•• We can explain the relationship between the Church’s rule and
banking practices in Northern Italy.
•• We can make inferences and support those inferences about why
the Renaissance could not have started elsewhere in Europe.

The first part of the process for explicitly teaching this learning strategy is creating and
sharing the what, why, and how of the learning. However, this alone is not enough. We
must scaffold learners’ active engagement with the what, why, and how and then grad-
ually remove that scaffold so that they self-regulate this process in their own learning.

The template on the next page provides a guided approach to direct learners toward
the day’s learning. A few examples are provided to get you started.
148 Module 14

LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA SELF-ASSESSMENT

What knowledge, skills, and understandings do you already have related to today’s learning?

I am very familiar I have heard of this This is a new concept

Concepts
with this concept. concept before. for me.

1. Example: Church’s rule

in Northern Italy X

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

I am very familiar
Skills I have done this before. This is a new skill for me.
with this skill.

1. Example: Making
inferences X

2.

3.

I am clear on this I am aware of this This is a new

Understanding
understanding. understanding. understanding for me.

1. Example: The Crusades

had an economic impact
X
that influenced the
Renaissance.

2.
 Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge 149

In addition to learners identifying their level of familiarity or prior knowledge related to

the content, skills, and understandings, it is important to provide opportunities for them
to articulate what they are uncertain, unclear, or unaware of related to the new learning.
This also offers us important data on where we should focus the learning experiences
for this particular topic. For example, if learners indicate that they have no prior knowl- online
resources
edge about the economic impact of the Crusades, we must then ensure that they have
ample experiences and time to elaborately encode, engage in retrieval and practice, For more resources related
experience productive struggle, and receive feedback around this piece of content. to pre-questioning, visit
the companion website
Furthermore, we will have to monitor learners’ cognitive load. Take a look at the tem- at resources.corwin.com/
plate on the next page where learners can develop questions about the day’s learning. howlearningworks.
150 Module 14

SELF-ASSESSMENT REFLECTION

What specific words or phrases are unclear in today’s learning intentions and success criteria?

Using your responses from above, develop a list of questions you have about today’s learning.

List specific tasks you believe you will need to do to be successful in today’s learning.
 Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge 151

Take a moment and map out how you will explicitly teach learners to integrate prior
knowledge into their new learning AND develop the capacity to self-assess where they
do not have prior knowledge or experiences. An important aspect of using the gradual
release of responsibility is to identify when you want learners to independently use this
strategy. When do you want learners to self-monitor their own prior knowledge, self-
reflect on what they do and don’t know, and self-assess their current understanding?
The space below provides an opportunity for you to plan for this release, as well as how
and when learners will practice and get feedback on the use of this strategy.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

152 Module 14

US
BON AL!
RI
M AT E
Annotated Reading
Not all learning starts with learning intentions and success criteria. For
example, project-based experiences, performance-based tasks, or inquiry
approaches to learning may come with a set of instructions, directions,
or supporting materials. So, how do we build capacity in our learners to
integrate prior knowledge into these tasks and thus attend to the most
relevant content, skills, and understandings? There are additional strategies
that students should learn that will contribute to the self-regulatory attributes
that seem most desirable for learners: self-monitoring, self-evaluation, self-
assessment, and self-teaching. Let’s look at one of those now: annotated
reading.

What Is Annotated Reading?

Annotated reading is an active reading strategy where learners “mark up” text
based on what they believe is important or mark up areas that are unclear
and create confusion for them. While you and your learners can co-create the
“marks,” some examples follow.

1. Circle keywords that you recognize and believe are important to the
learning task or experience.

2. Underline key phrases that you believe are major ideas necessary for
completing the learning task or experience.

3. Write a question mark next to anything confusing or unclear. Then

formulate a question that you will ask the teacher or your peers.

4. Place an exclamation point next to information that helps you make

a connection to something else. Write that “something else” in the
margin.
 Learning Strategy 2: Integrating Prior Knowledge 153

The space below provides an opportunity for you to plan for the gradual release of
annotated reading, as well as how and when learners will practice and get feedback
on the use of this strategy.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

Research has been very clear on the role of integrating prior knowledge into new learn-
ing. Furthermore, learners develop a tool kit of strategies that support their capacity
for self-monitoring, self-reflecting, and self-assessing what they know and don’t know
about a particular topic. This, in the end, increases the probability that they are attend-
ing to the most relevant information during learning. In other words, they are not dis-
tracted by the number of times the ball is passed between those individuals wearing For a video on attention
and awareness, visit the
white shirts. They don’t miss the giant gorilla walking across the room.
companion website at
resources.corwin.com/
The explicit instruction of integration strategies ensures learning by design, not by howlearningworks.
chance.
154 Module 14

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
Attach student work samples, comments, or feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
Know
“shows what you know”; include student
work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I describe the benefits

of learners activating their
prior knowledge?

Can I explain how activating

prior knowledge supports
selective attention along
with the other promising
principles?

Can I map out a process

for implementing time for
learners to activate their
prior knowledge in my
classroom?

With strategies for upping motivation and attention in place, let’s turn to the encoding
of the most relevant information: summarizing.
 15

LEARNING STRATEGY 3:
SUMMARIZING
LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA
We are learning about summarizing and how this I will know we have successfully completed this
strategy supports encoding. module when

•• I can describe what happens when learners

summarize.
•• I can explain how summarizing supports
encoding along with the other promising
principles.
•• I can map out a process for implementing
summarization strategies in my classroom.

Before we move forward in this playbook, take some time to review the experiences,
tasks, and learning from the previous 14 modules. Then, summarize your learning in
the box.

155
156 Module 15

Summarizing requires that learners take information, identify the most important and
relevant content, skills, or understandings, and then decide how different ideas are
related to each other. Think back to the previous exercise asking you to summarize
the previous 14 modules. Did you indeed take a large quantity of information, select
what you felt was most important, and then blend the information together into a
summary? Maybe you just created a list. Does that matter?

As it turns out, research on summarizing has addressed this very issue and will help
us develop a definition of this particular learning strategy. Knowing what is meant by
summarizing and what is not will help us explicitly teach our students an approach that
moves their learning forward.

Below is a continuum of effectiveness. Place the following tasks on the line based on
what you believe is their level of effectiveness in the acquisition, consolidation, and
storage of learning after a person reads a 2,000-word nonfiction text.

1. After each page, write three lines of text that summarize the main point from
that page.
2. While reading each page, take up to three lines of notes.
3. Write down, verbatim, three lines from each page deemed most important.
4. Copy all of the capitalized words in the text.
5. Do nothing—just read the 2,000-word nonfiction text.

Least Effective Most Effective

online
resources

For more resources related

to summarizing conditions Bretzing and Kulhavy (1979) conducted this exact study and found that the capitalized
and note-taking, visit the letter task was the least effective, and the summary and note-taking tasks were the
companion website at
resources.corwin.com/ most effective. So, your continuum should look like this:
howlearningworks.

5 2

Least Effective 4 3 1 Most Effective

If you return to your summary at the beginning of this module, which of these five
conditions did you actually do for the exercise? Based on these results, what do you
believe is required in summarizing for this particular strategy to be the most effective
for learners?
 Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing 157

The learning strategy in this module is summarizing.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning how summarizing influences I will know we have successfully completed this
student learning. module when

•• I can describe the essential characteristics of

summarizing.
•• I can explain how summarizing supports
encoding along with the other promising
principles.
•• I can apply the gradual release of responsibility
to explicitly teaching summarizing to my
learners.

The work of Bretzing and Kulhavy (1979) is not the only work on summarizing. Research
on this particular learning strategy is quite robust. Fiorella and Mayer (2015) reported on
30 experimental studies and John Hattie has identified three meta-analyses made up of
384 different studies. Together, these studies provide a clear definition of summarizing,
as well as essential characteristics that provide the greatest benefit to the learner as
they encode declarative, procedural, and conditional learning. Notice the word encode
in the previous sentence. Summarizing helps with the encoding of learning, as well as
retrieval and practice. For now, let’s focus on encoding. Take a moment and return to
Module 7. In that module, we looked at three specific factors associated with encoding.
List them here:

1.

2.

3.

Summarizing enhances meaning making and scaffolds the discovery and application
of patterns.
158 Module 15

ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS
OF SUMMARIZING
Summarizing is effective when

1. The task involves identifying the most relevant content or main ideas of
the lecture, text, a video clip, or a visual representation of a concept.
2. The task requires learners to create the summary using their own
words—this relies heavily on their retrieval of prior knowledge and
experiences.
3. The task requires learners to identify and articulate connections
between the different content and ideas in the summary.

Effective summarizing requires the generative processing of declarative, procedural, and

conditional knowledge. Furthermore, summarizing only moves learning forward if the
summaries result in the relevant content and main ideas of the learning. The generated
summaries, then, must be guided by the lea_________________ int______________
and suc____________ cr__________a (see the previous module). If you filled in the
missing letters for the terms learning intentions and success criteria, you are correct.
This points out how this learning strategy supports other promising principles beyond
elaborate encoding.

Use the space provided, as we have done in the previous two modules, to describe
how summarizing benefits motivation, attention, elaborate encoding, retrieval and prac-
tice, cognitive load, productive struggle, and feedback. You may need to flip back to
earlier modules. “Retrieval and practice” is done for you as an example.

SUMMARIZING

Motivation

Attention

Elaborate Encoding
 Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing 159

Retrieval and Summarizing learning requires learners to use their own words
Practice to generate summaries. Generating their own words to develop
the summary requires that they retrieve those words, along with
content, skills, and understandings from the learning experience
or task. This is, by definition, retrieval and practice.

Cognitive Load

Productive Struggle

Feedback

GETTING READY TO SUMMARIZE

To explicitly teach this strategy to our learners so that they can use this strategy in their
own learning, we must first expand our perspective about how learners can summarize.
We often view summarizing as the individual task of writing on an index card. This is
a limited view and can limit the utility of this particular learning strategy. We can vary
the way learners summarize, how they summarize, and with whom they summarize.
Consider the following approaches to summarizing:

Learners can summarize individually or in a small group with their peers.

Learners can summarize by writing or talking.

Learners can develop a formal summary or informally summarize online

resources
their learning.
For more resources
Use the following chart to develop different strategies for summarizing in your own related to summarizing
in elementary school, visit
classroom. Notice that the chart encourages the use of technology to increase the num- the companion website
ber of opportunities for summarizing. Several parts of the chart contain examples to get at resources.corwin.com/
you going. howlearningworks.
160 Module 15

DIFFERENT STRATEGIES FOR SUMMARIZING

Examples Potential Use of Technology

Individually Learners develop on a notecard a “Tweet” or a

150-character summary about a video clip.

Small Group

Through Writing

Through Talking Learners submit a 90-second Flipgrid

summarizing a concept.

Formal

Informal Learners submit a quick summary in a chat box.

 Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing 161

A PROCESS FOR THE EXPLICIT

INSTRUCTION OF SUMMARIZING
Before we move along any further in this module, let’s make sure we are clear on the
big ideas. For summarizing to be an effective learning strategy for our students, we
must be sure we not only know the parameters of summarizing but are able to support
learners as they learn the parameters of effective summarizing. Use the space provided
and write down the big ideas associated with summarizing.

Summarizing is more than just writing down or verbally sharing a list of facts, thoughts,
or ideas related to a particular topic. For summarizing to move learning forward, those
facts, thoughts, and ideas MUST align with the what, why, and how of the learning expe-
rience or task. The process for explicitly teaching summarizing must start with ensuring
learners are attending to the learning intentions and success criteria. You will notice the
first step of this process is the second step of the process for integrating prior knowl-
edge into new learning (see Figure 15.1).

15.1 SUMMARIZING PROCESS

Learners extract the key Learners develop

Learners engage in an
concepts, main ideas, a summary using their
analysis of the what,
and important details own words and
why, and how that
based on the what, why, connecting the key
identifies and retrieves
and how of the learning concepts, main ideas,
prior knowledge.
experience or task. and important details.
162 Module 15

While all the previous modules have emphasized integrating the process into the grad-
ual release of responsibility, this is particularly important with summarizing. Findings
from many studies on summarizing emphasize that the quality of the summary matters
and that the quality of the summary comes from the explicit instruction on summa-
rizing in our classrooms. More than any other learning strategy in this playbook, we
must teach this process to our students. Bean and Steenwyk (1984) found that explicitly
teaching summarizing produced the greatest gains.

For the first part of this process, learners must take their self-assessment of the learning
intentions and success criteria one step further and focus on the actions in the success
criteria. Let’s go back and look at the World History example from Module 14. You will
notice something has changed about the chart (see Figure 15.2).

 XAMPLES OF LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA

E
15.2
FOR A WORLD HISTORY CLASS

Topic: The Renaissance in Europe

Learning Intentions Today, we are learning about the economic effects of the Crusades so that we can understand
the developments leading to the Renaissance.

Success Criteria We know we are successful in our learning • What are the economic effects of the
when Crusades?
• We can describe specific economic • What is the relationship between the
effects of the Crusades. Church’s rule and banking practices in
• We can explain the relationship Northern Italy?
between the Church’s rule and banking • Why could the Renaissance not have
practices in Northern Italy. started elsewhere?
• We can make inferences and support
those inferences about why the
Renaissance could not have started
elsewhere in Europe.

When students revise the success criteria into questions that they can respond to, it
helps them focus on the concepts, main ideas, and important details. From there, learn-
ers can answer each question individually before looking for patterns, trends, and con-
nections across the success criteria. You have seen this modeled at the end of each
module.

Then, one way to scaffold the extracting of concepts, main ideas, and important details
is to have them highlight those patterns, trends, and connections. This is the second
part of the process. Of course, through gradual release, this should be modeled, done
collaboratively, and then independently done with practice and feedback.
 Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing 163

LEARNING INTENTIONS AND SUCCESS CRITERIA SELF-ASSESSMENT AND MONITORING

Topic:

Learning Intentions Today, we are learning . . .

Success Criteria We know we are successful in our Guiding questions from

learning when success criteria:
164 Module 15

The final part of this process is the development of the summary, which is drawn from
the many strategies you developed on page 160 in this module. Keep in mind that sum-
marization requires explicit instruction to ensure that quality summaries are generated.
Make sure you circled effective for this strategy in Module 12 but make note that this
strategy is susceptible to challenges unless we carefully map out a plan for integrating
this into our students’ learning.

Let’s close this module by mapping out how you will explicitly teach learners to
­summarize. An important aspect of using the gradual release of responsibility is to
­identify when you want learners to independently summarize. The space below p ­ rovides
an opportunity for you to plan for this release, as well as how and when l­earners will
­practice and get feedback on the use of this strategy.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

 Learning Strategy 3: Summarizing 165

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
Attach student work samples, comments, or feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
Know
“shows what you know”; include student
work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I describe what

happens when learners
summarize?

Can I explain how

summarizing supports
encoding along with
the other promising
principles?

Can I map out a process

for implementing
summarization
strategies in my
classroom?
 16

LEARNING STRATEGY 4:
MAPPING
In the previous module, we focused on the learning strategy of summarizing. To set
up our next learning strategy, take a few moments and retrieve the essential charac-
teristics of summarizing. We shared three in the last module; you can certainly add
more in the space provided.

1.

2.

3.

Add some of your own.

4.

5.

We started this module by reviewing summarizing because mapping is a very similar

learning strategy. Just as summarizing prompts learners to identify the key concepts,
main ideas, and important details, mapping requires learners to do this as well. Mapping
also prompts learners to explicitly identify connections among those key concepts,
main ideas, and important details. Mapping, however, involves the creation of a spatial
representation of those connections. This is where mapping and summarizing differ.

Learning by mapping occurs when learners are asked to convert a text lesson
into a spatial arrangement of words, such as a concept map, knowledge map,
or matrix graphic organizer. (Fiorella & Mayer, 2015, p. 38)

166
 Learning Strategy 4: Mapping 167

There were three specific types of mapping mentioned in the Fiorella and Mayer (2015)
definition of mapping. List those three types here:

1.

2.
online
resources

For more resources related

3.
to mapping meta-analysis,
visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.

These three specific types will be the focus of this module—mapping as a strategy for
elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice, and, in some cases, productive struggle.

The learning strategy in this module is mapping.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning three different ways for learners to I will know we have successfully completed this
map out their learning. module when

•• I can compare and contrast the three different

approaches to mapping.
•• I can explain how mapping supports retrieval
and practice, along with the other promising
principles.
•• I can apply the gradual release of responsibility
to explicitly teach my students how to map.

THREE DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAP

Let’s look at an example of each type of map and identify the similarities and differences
between the three approaches. As you look at each example, use the Notes box to list
your observations about each example. What do you notice? What do you wonder?
168 Module 16

MATRIX GRAPHIC ORGANIZER PROVIDED TO LEARNERS

Name: _________________

Story Summary

Character:

Book Title:

Author:

Setting:
Problem:

Theme:
Solution:

Image source: iStock/fjmoura

 Learning Strategy 4: Mapping 169

Notes

KNOWLEDGE MAPS CREATED BY A THIRD-GRADE LEARNER

AND A FIRST-GRADE LEARNER FROM ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY

Notes
170 Module 16

CONCEPT MAP GENERATED INDEPENDENTLY BY A LEARNER

increase in
extreme weather

melting warming
glaciers oceans

evidence
human
activities

Climate Change causes

natural
environmental
changes
further solutions
research

explore
change human
renewable
behavior energy sources

reduce burning
of fossil fuels

Source: Adapted from The Learning Center (n.d.). University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/
using-concept-maps. Creative Commons License.

Notes
 Learning Strategy 4: Mapping 171

Use the space provided to compile your notices and wonders and begin to compare
and contrast the three approaches to mapping.

To talk about the similarities and differences between these three approaches to map- online
resources
ping, we first have to add some terminology or vocabulary. Mapping involves the spatial
For more resources related
arrangement of nodes. Nodes are words—concepts, ideas, or details. Those nodes are
to knowledge maps, visit
linked together. These links are purposeful, intentional, and deliberate, not arbitrary the companion website
connections. Return to the three examples on the previous pages. at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.

Circle or highlight examples of nodes and links on each example.

For knowledge maps and concept maps, this was likely an easy request. The nodes
and links are clear. For the graphic organizer, the nodes and links may be obvious sim-
ply because the graphic organizer has a predetermined structure based on the topic
of the organizer. This predetermined structure also means that the learners have more
constraints or limitations on how they map their learning. In a graphic organizer, learn-
ers simply fill in or complete the organizer with the requested information. In the exam-
ple above, learners must recognize what the theme is and then write it into the graphic
organizer.

Knowledge maps fall somewhere in between graphic organizers and concept maps.
They have more constraints than a graphic organizer, fewer constraints than a concept
map. For knowledge maps, learners must

1. Identify the most relevant content or ideas of the lecture, text, video clip, or
visual representation of a concept.
2. Organize the content or ideas in a way that is meaningful to them.
3. Apply a predetermined set of links (e.g., can be, but if, means).
172 Module 16

In a concept map, learners must

1. Identify the most relevant content or ideas of the lecture, text, video clip, or
visual representation of a concept.
2. Organize the content or ideas in a way that is meaningful to them.
3. Explicitly identify and label the spatial connections between the different
content and ideas in the concept map.

Take a moment and return once more to the three examples. Are you able to see
the characteristics listed here in each of those examples? Then, using the continuum
below, place each of the three types of maps somewhere on the continuum based on
the level of constraints or limitations placed on the learner.

Most Constrained Least Constrained

Mapping benefits motivation, attention, elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice,

cognitive load, productive struggle, and feedback. As we have done in the previous
two modules, use the space provided to describe how these promising principles and
practices are integrated in mapping. You may need to flip back to earlier modules.
“Cognitive Load” is done for you as an example.

MAPPING

Motivation

Attention

Elaborate Encoding

Retrieval and Practice

 Learning Strategy 4: Mapping 173

Cognitive Load Generating the nodes and links in concept mapping and
knowledge mapping is an example of germane cognitive load.
Furthermore, organizing learning into a spatial representation
or clusters, driven by connections, helps reduce extraneous
cognitive load and monitor intrinsic cognitive load (e.g.,
taking complex material and organizing it into a spatial
representation).

Productive Struggle

Feedback

GETTING READY FOR MAPPING

The central focus in teaching mapping to our learners is helping them to discern when
to use a graphic organizer, knowledge map, or concept map. For the mapping strat-
egy to be effective and move learning forward, learners must self-monitor, self-reflect,
and self-evaluate as they spatially represent their learning; they also need to consider
which approach to use to represent their learning. Here are some guiding questions to
consider:

1. Is the learning about a standardized process or procedure (e.g., developing THE CENTRAL
a narrative essay, the scientific method versus human impact on the FOCUS IN TEACHING
environment)? In this situation, a graphic organizer may be more appropriate.
MAPPING TO OUR
2. Are there clear delineations between various aspects or components of the LEARNERS IS HELPING
topic (e.g., different types of polygons, different text features)? A graphic THEM TO DISCERN
organizer may be best here as well. WHEN TO USE A
3. Is the learning conditional (e.g., if-then relationships like the different types of GRAPHIC ORGANIZER,
triangles or rocks)? A knowledge map, with predetermined links, works well KNOWLEDGE MAP, OR
with conditional learning. CONCEPT MAP.

4. Are there multiple outcomes, variables, and interactions/relationships

associated with the learning (e.g., climate change, Civil Rights Movement)?
This level of complexity is often represented using a concept map.
174 Module 16

The answers to each of these questions will provide insight into which approach to use
and when. For now, use the chart below to brainstorm conditions associated with each
approach. Refer to the previous guiding questions as needed. One is done for you as
an example.

When Is This Approach Support for Learners

Approach to Mapping
Most Appropriate? (Strategy Instruction)

Graphic Organizer 1. Narrative essay— Learners will need support

learners complete a in matching specific
graphic organizer as components of the
part of their pre-writing narrative essay with the
component. graphic organizer and then
the essay (e.g., what is
each node and what goes
where?).
2.

Knowledge Map 1.

2.

Concept Map 1. The relationship Learners must be able

between human beings to identify the concepts,
and climate change. skills, and ideas; and
then arrange them in
such a way that they can
articulate the connections
between concepts, skills,
and understandings.
2.
 Learning Strategy 4: Mapping 175

A PROCESS FOR THE EXPLICIT

INSTRUCTION OF SUMMARIZING
Mapping is more than just writing down all the keywords and phrases and drawing a
line between a few of these keywords and phrases. Mapping truly is a way for learners
to spatially represent their learning and explicitly draw the connections and relation-
ships among the learning. Once again, this process must start with ensuring learners
are attending to the learning intentions and success criteria. This is becoming a reoc-
curring theme in this playbook. Learners must first start with their learning intentions
and success criteria to ensure they are identifying relevant concepts, ideas, and details
(see Figure 16.1).

16.1 A PROCESS FOR THE EXPLICIT TEACHING OF MAPPING

Learners extract the key

Learners must arrange
concepts, ideas, and Explicity articulate
the concepts, ideas, and
important details based the connections or
details into logical
on the what, why, and relationships using
clusters. What goes
how of the learning phrases or sentences.
with what?
experience or task.

The first part of this process relates to knowledge maps and concept maps. Learners
must generate a list of concepts, skills, and understandings. Essentially learners are
just developing a list of concepts, skills, and understandings from multiple sources (e.g.,
class notes, learning experiences and tasks, the textbook).

Pause for a moment and return to the examples of the knowledge map and
concept map. You can see what concepts, skills, and understandings would
have been on this learner’s list. For the graphic organizer, learners are not
developing lists from multiple sources. Instead, they are generating ideas to go
into the predetermined structure (e.g., the theme, setting).
176 Module 16

CONCEPTS, SKILLS, AND UNDERSTANDINGS

Topic:

Concepts 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Skills 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Understandings 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.
 Learning Strategy 4: Mapping 177

The second part of the process for explicitly teaching mapping to learners requires
learners to take those concepts, ideas, and details and cluster them. What concepts
can be grouped together? What ideas go together? What details are linked to each
concept and idea? This sets up the drawing of the knowledge maps and concept maps.
For the graphic organizer, this is where the learners decide what information goes into
which part of the predetermined structure.

online
resources
Pause for a moment and return to the examples of the knowledge map and
concept map. Notice how the learners that generated these two examples For more resources related to
clustered their items (e.g., apple color, ripeness, as well as cellular respiration, multi-relational semantic maps,
visit the companion website
light-dependent reactions). For the graphic organizer, learners are not at resources.corwin.com/
developing lists from multiple sources. Instead, they are still generating ideas howlearningworks.
to go into the predetermined structure (e.g., the theme, setting).

The final part of this process is the creation of the maps or the filling in of the graphic
organizer. Just like summarizing, this strategy requires explicit instruction to ensure that
the quality of the links and the quality of the information included in the graphic orga-
nizer are aligned with the learning intention and success criteria. Make sure you circled
effective for this strategy in Module 12.

In the end, we want learners, without prompting, to decide that they want to generate a
knowledge map after reading a section from their textbook. We want learners to take a
week’s worth of learning and generate a concept map that shows the relationships and
interactions in the physiology of motion or ecosystems. But this takes time and explicit
instruction. Learners will require both practice and feedback as they begin mapping their
learning. The space below provides an opportunity for you to plan for this release, as
well as how and when learners will practice and get feedback on the use of this strategy.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

178 Module 16

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
Attach student work samples, comments, or feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
Know
“shows what you know”; include student
work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I compare and

contrast the three
different approaches
to mapping?

Can I explain how

mapping supports
retrieval and practice,
along with the other
promising principles?

Can I apply the gradual

release of responsibility
to explicitly teach my
students how to map?
 17

LEARNING STRATEGY 5:
SELF-TESTING
The term testing is one of the most disliked and, at the same time, underutilized con-
cepts in education. If you mention the word test to your students or any group of stu-
dents, there will be audible moans and groans. And that is only the distaste you can see
and hear. There is likely internal anxiety moving through the classroom as well. Try this
exercise with your own learners. Ask them what comes to mind when they hear the word
test. How do their responses align with their responses to the Conceptions of Learning
Survey in Module 1 on page 17?

Self-testing is a very efficient strategy that supports learners in self-monitoring, self-

reflecting, and self-evaluating their learning. In 1909, Edwina Abbott conducted and
published the very first study on self-testing.
online
Since then, there has been a large amount of research on the benefits of this learning resources

strategy. However, we have to address a few misconceptions to ensure that when each For more resources related
of us uses the term self-testing, we are clear on the meaning of that term. As we move to the original study on
forward in this module, not only will we continue to focus on the gradual release of the testing effect, visit the
companion website at
responsibility, but we will have to monitor the dispositions and attitudes of our learners resources.corwin.com/
toward this very efficient strategy. howlearningworks.

The learning strategy in this module is self-testing.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about the role of self-testing in the I will know we have successfully completed this
acquisition, consolidation, and storage of learning. module when

•• I can describe what is meant by self-testing.

•• I can explain how self-testing benefits my
learners.
•• I can apply the gradual release of responsibility
to explicitly teaching students to engage in
self-testing.

179
180 Module 17

To get started, take a look at the following graph. You likely recognize that graph from
Module 8 except this version is without any labels or descriptions. Without flipping back
to that module, label, fill in, and add as many descriptors as you can, related to what this
graph is and what information is conveyed through the graph.

Now, if you would like to receive feedback on this task, flip back to page 80 in Module 8.
How did you do? If you need to make revisions to your above responses, do so now.
Congratulations, you just participated in self-testing. Before we define what is meant
by self-testing, look back at the previous paragraph and put a circle around the word
feedback. We will come back to that later.
Self-testing occurs when learners respond to low-stakes practice questions about pre-
viously learned material. What separates self-testing, the highly effective learning strat-
egy and focus of this module, from other forms of testing (i.e., standardized tests or unit
tests) is that

1. Self-testing is low stakes or no stakes

2. Self-testing can be completed both within or outside of the learning task or
experience
3. Self-testing is something learners engage in on their own

Using the Venn diagram below, compare and contrast self-testing with other forms of
testing you use in your classroom. Be specific.
 Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing 181

BENEFITS OF SELF-TESTING
Self-testing provides many benefits for learners. For example, when learners generate
responses to low-stakes practice questions, they are engaging in the retrieval of declar-
ative, procedural, and conditional learning. This benefit is enhanced when this practice
testing is spaced out over time (e.g., spaced or distributed practice). Furthermore, when
these low-stakes questions take on different forms (e.g., multiple-choice, free-response,
or mixed variety), learners have the opportunity to access or retrieve their learning
using different cues or prompts. For example, responding to a multiple-choice question
requires a different kind of retrieval than a free-response question. However, in general,
the benefits of self-testing are greater when learners must generate responses through
free-response questions (Smith & Karpicke, 2014).

Using the space provided, generate a list of all the different ways learners can engage
in self-testing. While they need to test themselves, rather than have us test them, this online
resources
list will help us later on in the module when we embark on the gradual release of
responsibility in self-testing. Many learners may simply have misconceptions about For more resources related
to different types of tests,
what is meant by self-testing.
visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
Self-testing not only capitalizes on retrieval and practice, but when learners engage in howlearningworks.
practice testing, they also leverage the other promising principles and practices dis-
cussed in this playbook. Use the space provided to describe how self-testing benefits
motivation, attention, elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice, cognitive load, produc-
tive struggle, and feedback. You may need to flip back to earlier modules. “Attention” is
done for you as an example.

SELF-TESTING

Motivation

Attention If attention is the identifying, selecting, and focusing of our

cognitive resources on specific learning, self-testing helps
highlight what specifically needs to be focused on—especially
when mistakes are made or learners get something wrong. It
ups learners’ awareness of what they need to work on in the
next steps of their learning.

Elaborate Encoding

(Continued)
182 Module 17

(Continued)

Retrieval and Practice

Cognitive Load

Productive Struggle

Feedback

WHAT IF LEARNERS MAKE MISTAKES?

One of the concerns with self-testing is the possibility that the learner will get something
wrong and won’t be in our school or classroom so that we can address the mistake.
Let’s say that a seventh grader decides to engage in practice testing on the relationship
between the circumference and area of a circle. In his or her attempt to answer concep-
tual, procedural, or application questions that they have selected from their textbook,
the seventh grader makes several mistakes and gets many of the questions wrong.
Is this a problem? The answer: It depends. Whether making a mistake is beneficial or
online harmful depends on the learners’ access to corrective feedback.
resources

For more resources related When effective corrective feedback is provided, making mistakes and then correcting
to the role of feedback, visit those errors based on the feedback enhances the benefits of self-testing. To make sure
the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ we support the giving and receiving of active feedback, flip back to Module 11 and list some
howlearningworks. of the characteristics of effective feedback. Use the space provided to create your list.
 Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing 183

GETTING READY TO IMPLEMENT

SELF-TESTING
To lay the foundation necessary to support learners in the implementation of this learn-
ing strategy, three specific areas must be addressed in our classroom.

1. We must motivate learners to engage in self-testing. After a while, we want

them to be self-motivated to practice testing.

Returning to Module 5, how can you increase student interest, build their self-efficacy, establish effort-
based attributions, and encourage deep motivation?
184 Module 17

2. We must increase their tools for self-questioning and support them in

picking the right tool, at the right time, to get the maximum benefit from
self-testing.

Returning to Module 8, specifically Figure 8.2, what tools would your learners benefit from as they engage
in self-testing? Be specific. Those are the tools that we will implement through gradual release.

3. We must plan for the giving and receiving of feedback, whether from us, from
their peers, or through online platforms (e.g., IXL, Reflex Map, Achieve3000).

Feedback varies in terms of timing, amount, mode, and audience. Return to Module 11 and describe how
you will vary feedback to enhance the effects of self-testing.

A PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTING

SELF-TESTING
Let’s be very honest: getting learners to practice is challenging. Self-testing is no excep-
tion. There are challenges to all the learning strategies we have discussed in this play-
book. That is expected and is a normal part of teaching and learning. For example, goal
setting takes time and careful monitoring. Integrating prior knowledge involves learn-
ers realistically self-assessing their familiarity with content, skills, and understandings.
Without explicitly teaching summarizing, learners may struggle and mapping requires
selecting the right approach to mapping. Again, this is expected and normal. When it
comes to practice through self-testing, the challenge lies in simply getting learners to
do it. However, what appears to be a potentially powerful approach is to integrate other
learning strategies into this process. Let’s look at the process to uncover what we mean
(see Figure 17.1).
 Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing 185

17.1 A PROCESS FOR THE EXPLICIT TEACHING OF SELF-TESTING

Learners must align the tools

Learners must acquire and resources they select
Learners must know
a tool kit and collection with the specific learning
where to go to give and
resources to support outcomes communicated with
receive feedback.
their self-testing. through the learning intention
and success criteria.

The first part of this process was initiated on page 181 of this module. You generated a
list of tools that would benefit your learners as they engage in self-testing, and these
tools must then be explicitly taught to learners. Again, we are moving away from simply
using evidence-based practices “on” our learners to explicitly teaching them learning
strategies that they can use on their own. We do this by

Modeling the specific strategy within the context of self-testing

Making learning visible so that learners can attribute the self-testing to

their growth

Modeling what to do when they don’t know what to do, so they can do
this when we are not there to immediately help them

Modeling and practicing the giving and receiving of feedback

The second part of this process is helping learners align tools and resources available
to them with the learning intention and success criteria.

The learning intention informs us what to practice test. The success criteria tell
us how to practice test.

Take, for example, the following success criteria:

I can model data using an equation.

I can explain the human impact on an ecosystem.

I can identify key details of my reading and explain how they support the
main idea.

I can analyze my work to identify areas where I need additional practice.

Take a moment and circle the verbs in each of the above criteria. The verbs model,
explain, identify, and analyze tell us and our learners how they are to practice. In other
words, how is a learner supposed to practice with data and equations? By modeling.
186 Module 17

How is a learner supposed to practice with human impact on an ecosystem? By explain-

ing. The verb not only tells us and our learners how to practice but also narrows down
our choice of tools. The generative processes of the tool should match the generative
processes implied by the verb. In the space below, re-write the previous sentence. That
statement is really important.

The generative processes . . .

If the verb in the success criteria is describe, the tools we select and the ones we want
our learners to select should give them practice describing. In the chart below, use your
responses to item 2 on page 184 of this module as a starting point to generate tools
that align to the verbs in example success criteria. One is done for you as an example.

Success Criteria Verb Examples of Aligned Tools and Resources

I can model data using an Model

equation.

I can explain the human Explain Use Flipgrid to verbally practice explaining this impact.
impact on an ecosystem.

I can identify key details Identify

of my reading and explain
how they support the
main idea.

I can analyze my work Analyze

to identify areas where I
need additional practice.
 Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing 187

SELF-TESTING TOOLS

Success Criteria Verb Examples of Aligned Tools and Resources

188 Module 17

The final part of this process involves the feedback. As we have done in each of the
previous models, this requires us to model where to get the feedback and what to
do with that feedback once we have it (e.g., anchor charts, one-on-one conferencing,
exemplars, rubrics, teacher modeling). The key to this component is to maintain low
stakes. Feedback is not a grade. The second we provide a grade, self-testing moves
from low stakes to high stakes and the motivation to use this as a learning strategy
moves to simply getting a grade.

In the end, we want learners, without prompting, to practice. Whether through goal
online
resources setting, self-assessing, or utilizing one of the other learning strategies presented in this
For more resources related playbook, we want our learners to self-regulate both the strategy of self-testing and
to scheduling self-testing when to use practice testing to enhance their learning.
and reciprocal teaching,
visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/ Before we map out the gradual release of responsibility for self-testing, let’s add in
howlearningworks. some bonus material.

S
BONU L!
RIA
M AT E
Cooperative Learning
One approach for supporting independent self-testing is using cooperative
learning as part of the scaffolding toward self-testing. Cooperative learning is
defined as

A pedagogical strategy through which two or more learners

collaborate to achieve a common goal. Typically, cooperative
learning seeks to foster positive interdependence through face-to-
face interactions, to hold individual group members accountable
for the collective project, and to develop interpersonal skills among
learners. Cooperative learning aims to enable learners to engage in
more complex subject matter than students would typically be able to
master. (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021)

Simply using cooperative learning does not necessarily lead to self-testing.

However, we can build learners’ self-efficacy and effort attribution by
assigning roles within cooperative learning tasks that involve self-testing.
For example, learners might be placed in a cooperative learning experience
where one of the rotating roles is the Inquisitor. This individual would be
responsible for generating questions around the particular task. The gradual
release aspect of this approach and role would be as follows:

1. Initially provide pre-created questions that they can select and use in
the cooperative learning task.
2. Then, provide question stems and the Inquisitor must finish the second
half of the questions.
 Learning Strategy 5: Self-Testing 189

3. And then, question starters require the Inquisitor to write a larger part of
the questions.
4. Finally, the Inquisitor generates his or her own questions.

Another specific strategy that supports self-questioning is the use of reciprocal

teaching.

Much like assigning roles in cooperative learning, reciprocal teaching offers

every learner the opportunity to generate questions and responses around a
text-based task.

The space below provides an opportunity for you to plan for this release, as well as how
and when learners will practice and get feedback on the use of this strategy.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

190 Module 17

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
Attach student work samples, comments, or feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
Know
“shows what you know”; include student
work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I describe what is

meant by self-testing?

Can I explain how self-

testing benefits my
learners?

Can I apply the gradual

release of responsibility
to explicitly teaching
students to engage in
self-testing?
 18

LEARNING STRATEGY 6:
ELABORATIVE
INTERROGATION
We have come a long way since the start of this playbook. As we enter into this
next module, it might be time to pause and review the previous five learning
strategies. The chart below lists those strategies and then provides a space for you
to reflect on the “why” behind those strategies. Take a moment and complete the
chart; provide as much detail as possible and examples from your own classroom.

Learning Strategy Why Does This Particular Strategy Have the Potential to Accelerate Student Learning?

Goal Setting

(Continued)

191
192 Module 18

(Continued)

Learning Strategy Why Does This Particular Strategy Have the Potential to Accelerate Student Learning?

Integrating Prior
Knowledge

Summarizing

Mapping

Self-Testing
 Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation 193

Whether you realized this at the time, you just participated in elaborative interrogation.
Elaborative interrogation is defined as a questioning technique that calls for readers to
generate an explanation for an explicitly stated fact by asking questions such as

“Why is this true?”

“Why does this make sense?”

Or simply,

“Why?”

Unlike more typical textbook questions, which ask “what” instead of “why,” elabora-
tive interrogation has been shown to promote learning with text-based experiences or
tasks (Visible Learning MetaX, 2021).

The learning strategy in this module is elaborative interrogation.

LEARNING INTENTION SUCCESS CRITERIA

We are learning about elaborative interrogation. I will know we have successfully completed this
module when

•• I can describe what is meant by elaborative

interrogation.
•• I can describe different ways to encourage
elaborative interrogation.
•• I can apply the gradual release of responsibility
to explicitly teaching students to engage in
elaborative interrogation on their own.

BENEFITS OF ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION

Starting with the seminal work of Pressley et al. (1987), elaborative interrogation has
been thoroughly investigated across many different groups of learners (e.g., age, dis-
online
ability status) and many different types of learning (e.g., declarative, procedural, and resources

conditional). For more resources related

to elaborative interrogation,
However, the findings of the research suggest that elaborative interrogation is more visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
effective with factual material. The chart on the next page contains factual statements howlearningworks.
from various content areas and grade levels. In the column on the right, create an
elaborative interrogation question.
194 Module 18

Examples of Elaborative Interrogation Questions

1. “Why is this true?”
online
resources
2. “Why does this make sense?”
For more resources related
to the elaborate encoding 3. “Why?”
effect size study, visit
the companion website 4. “Why would this be true of _______ and not ________?”
at resources.corwin.com/
howlearningworks.

There are several examples in the chart to get you going.

Factual Statement Potential Elaborative Interrogation

High School Trigonometry: Trigonometric functions Why are trigonometric functions not invertible?
are not invertible, because they are periodic. Domain
restrictions on trigonometric functions are necessary in
order to determine the inverse trigonometric function.

Middle School World Geography: The physical features

of Latin America and the Caribbean have influenced their
settlement and development.

Fifth-Grade Science: Sometimes when two or more Why would this be true of some substances and not
substances are combined, they do not lose their others?
identifying characteristics.

Second-Grade Reading: Illustrations and images

contribute to and clarify text.
 Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation 195

Elaborative interrogation draws on multiple principles from the science of learning.

Although retrieval and practice and productive struggle are obvious connections, simply
asking “Why?”—“Why does it make sense that . . . ?” or “Why is this true?”—not only cap-
italizes on retrieval and practice and productive struggle but leverages other promising
principles and practices as well. Use the space provided to describe how elaborative
interrogation benefits motivation, attention, elaborate encoding, retrieval and practice,
cognitive load, productive struggle, and feedback. Flip back through the other modules
if necessary. “Motivation” is done for you.

ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION

Motivation Asking learners “why” often taps into their own interests about a
particular topic. Elaborative interrogation around something that
interests them will increase their motivation. Even if learners are
not immediately interested in a topic, going below the surface
to uncover the why behind the learning will increase motivation
through enhancing their sense of agency.

Attention

Elaborate Encoding

Retrieval and Practice

Cognitive Load

Productive Struggle

Feedback
196 Module 18

Let’s return to the idea of productive struggle. As you might have noticed from the two
previous tasks, elaborative interrogation can easily disrupt the “Goldilocks Zone” of
productive struggle. Flip back to Module 10. What are some challenges that we may
face in implementing elaborative interrogation? List a few of them here.

GETTING READY TO IMPLEMENT

ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION
Recognizing the challenges you described in the previous exercise provides a greater
chance that we can support our learners in developing the capacity for and ultimately
using elaborative interrogation independently. Several prerequisite skills will enhance
the implementation of this learning strategy.

1. We must ensure learners have access to the necessary resources for

“finding things out.” For example, if learners do not immediately know why
trigonometric functions are not invertible, do they have the resources for
finding the answer?

How will you not only ensure the necessary resources are available, but how will you incorporate this into
your plan for the gradual release of responsibility?
 Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation 197

2. We must explicitly teach our learners the different types of questions

by first using examples and non-examples, then question frames, on to
question stems, and then finally the opportunity to develop their own
questions of “why.”

Use this space to research and describe different types of questions (e.g., open versus closed, divergent
versus convergent). How will you ensure learners have the capacity and confidence to ask questions of
both you, their peers, and then themselves?

BO
M AT N U S
ERI
AL!

Jigsaw
Elaborative interrogation is also effective in small group settings. Similar to the
cooperative learning implementation of self-testing, we can create a learning
online
experience that allows learners to practice elaborative interrogation within our resources
classrooms. This makes us available to provide feedback and other scaffolds as
For more resources related
they develop the capacity and dispositional skills to ask “why is this true?”; “why to the jigsaw classroom,
does this make sense?”; or even simply “why?” visit the companion website
at resources.corwin.com/
A jigsaw is one specific strategy for structuring this work. howlearningworks.

1. Getting Started in Home Groups

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4

Students meet in home groups. They each have a different

section of the text and read it independently.

2. Phase One: Expert Groups

1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

Students meet in expert groups to discuss the text that

they have in common.

3. Phase Two: Home Groups

(Continued)
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4
 2. Phase One: Expert Groups
198 Module 18
1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

(Continued) Students meet in expert groups to discuss the text that

they have in common.

3. Phase Two: Home Groups

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

3 4 3 4 3 4 3 4

Students reconvene in expert groups to discuss

the readings.

4. Phase Three: Expert Groups

1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

1 1 2 2 3 3 4 4

Students meet again in expert groups to discuss the ideas

they have gathered, including how their section of the text
fits into the whole text.

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2018).

Learners are assigned to an expert group in which they develop expertise

in a particular idea, concept, or topic. Each learner understands that he or
she will be responsible for teaching his or her classmates the declarative,
procedural, or conditional knowledge he or she has gained in their expert
group when they return to their home group. For example, the teacher
might develop expert groups on each application of the derivative (i.e.,
related rates, mean value, critical points, graphing, maximization and
minimization problems, and differential equations). In science, an expert
group could be developed for each type of map (i.e., bathymetric, geologic,
topographic, weather, and star chart). What about learners exploring
different genres of writing? In a World Geography course, expert groups
might focus on different aspects of a country’s geography (e.g., physical,
cultural, human geography). Not to belabor the point, but this would work
in physical education. For example, middle school learners could jigsaw
different exercises for raising heart rate.

After an allotted amount of time, learners return to their home groups

and teach the material to the other members. At the end of the teaching,
learners return to their expert groups one final time to reflect on their
experiences. Self-explanation and self-teaching are woven throughout the
jigsaw strategy.

Before moving on, respond to the reflective question on the next page.
 Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation 199

How does the jigsaw strategy support learners building their capacity for elaborative interrogation?

A PROCESS FOR IMPLEMENTING

ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION

18.1 A PROCESS FOR THE EXPLICIT TEACHING OF ELABORATIVE INTERROGATION

Learners must develop Learners must know where

Learners must know
the expectation that they tools and resources are that
where to go to give and
will have to answer the will support their answering
receive feedback.
“why” in the classroom. of the question “why?”.
200 Module 18

We set the tone for elaborative interrogation every time a learner gives a response to a
question (see Figure 18.1). If a learner responds “The answer is 2,” whether or not they
are prepared to explain why the answer is 2 depends on the tone we set prior to this
exchange. The first part of this process starts on day one in our classroom. For exam-
ple, a teacher we know has a sign in the back of her classroom with the letters W – M
– Y – S – T. Large enough to see from across the school, those letters stand for “What
Makes You Say That?” As the year progresses, all she has to do is point to the poster
after a learner has responded to a question, and they immediately begin to justify their
response with evidence from the learning experience or task.

The second part of this process is helping learners identify tools and resources avail-
able to them when they do not know. Return to the factual statements and questions
you generated on page 194 of this module. What tools would support a learner in “find-
ing out” why, rather than waiting on someone to tell them the answer? For example,
let’s look at the fifth-grade science example: why would this be true of some substances
and not others? Does your classroom have a science center? Could the learner look up
the answer using their laptop computer? Is there a literacy center that contains books
on mixtures and solutions?

If we are going to use elaborative interrogation, we must create a learning environment

that supports this learning strategy. If students are not going to be allowed to get out of
their seats, visit the media center, or step away from the current learning experience or
task to find an answer, why implement this learning strategy? Use the space below to
describe what guidelines or parameters you will need to create an environment condu-
cive for elaborative interrogation.
 Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation 201

SELF-TESTING TOOLS

Factual Statements Potential Elaborative Interrogation Examples of Tools and Resources

202 Module 18

Like self-testing, elaborative interrogation relies on effective feedback. As we have

done in each of the previous models, this requires us to model where to get the feed-
back and what to do with that feedback once we have it. Some questions to consider
include
LIKE SELF-TESTING,
ELABORATIVE 1. How will learners share their answers to the questions “Why is this true?”;
INTERROGATION “Why does this make sense?”; or even simply “Why?” Will they simply
RELIES ON EFFECTIVE self-explain or self-teach?
FEEDBACK.
2. How will they get feedback on their responses to ensure we do not
perpetuate misconceptions?
3. How will we provide feedback, but not in a way that discourages future
elaborative interrogation?

The key to this component and self-testing is to maintain low stakes. This learning strat-
egy is not for a grade either.

In the end, we want learners to naturally ask Why? We want them to know more than
just declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge from our classrooms. Instead
of reading or hearing about earthworms, we want them to ask why they surface in a
rainstorm. Why did F. Scott Fitzgerald write The Great Gatsby? Why is the slope of a
vertical line undefined and not infinite? Whether through goal setting, self-assessing, or
utilizing one of the other learning strategies presented in this playbook, we want our
learners to use this powerful approach to move beyond surface-level understanding.
We want them to be scuba divers, not snorkelers. And, as it turns out, this is a very
effective learning strategy.

And for one final time in this playbook, use the space below to plan for this release, as
well as how and when learners will practice and get feedback on the use of this strategy.

Student Responsibility Teacher Responsibility

“I DO”:

“WE DO”:

“YOU ALL DO”:

“YOU DO”:

Source: Adapted from Fisher and Frey (2013).

 Learning Strategy 6: Elaborative Interrogation 203

Checks for Understanding

Take a moment and return to the success criteria for this module. As you have done in
the previous modules, respond to the following questions by “showing what you know.”
Attach student work samples, comments, or feedback to support your responses.

Show
(Generate a response to the question that
“shows what you know”; include student
Know work samples, comments, or feedback)

Can I describe what is meant

by elaborative interrogation?

Can I describe different ways

to encourage elaborative
interrogation?

Can I apply the gradual release

of responsibility to explicitly
teaching students to engage
in elaborative interrogation on
their own?
 A RT
P

IV

I n t h i s s e c ti o n:
Module 19. Generating and Gathering Evidence

205
 19

GENERATING AND
GATHERING EVIDENCE
From the very start of our journey through this playbook, we established two major
ideas about how learning works and implementing promising principles or practices
into our classroom:

1. The science of learning offers promising principles or practices that may work
in our classrooms. However, we must make adaptations to these principles
or practices that reflect the local context of the classroom and then generate
evidence that allows both us and our learners to determine if learning has
occurred.
2. The science of learning offers learning strategies that we should explicitly
teach to our students to build their capacity and efficacy in their own
independent learning journey. We want our students to take ownership of
their learning and know what to do to move their learning forward when we
are no longer their teacher.

Please return to the introduction of this playbook and list the four characteristics we want our learners to
develop through the explicit instruction of learning strategies:

1.

2.

3.

4.

206
 Generating and Gathering Evidence 207

As we strive to achieve the two main ideas, we must engage in a process for evaluating
whether a specific finding from the science of learning and learning strategies is having
an impact on our learners. This final module walks through our role as evaluators of
impact.

PLANNING FOR EVALUATION

To be evaluators of our impact, we must plan for evaluation. This includes

Having and sharing clarity about learning

A plan for gathering evidence TO BE EVALUATORS

OF OUR IMPACT,
A plan for collecting and organizing evidence WE MUST PLAN FOR
A plan for making sense of the evidence EVALUATION.

Having and sharing clarity around learning involves three reflective questions (see
Figure 19.1):

Where we are going?

How is it going?

Where will we go next?

19.1 THREE QUESTIONS FOR PLANNING EVALUATION

Where are This component of the evaluation process looks at the intended learning
we going? target and the criteria for success. This can include content, as well as
specific skills and understandings.
Example: Students may be learning about watersheds, the War of 1812,
or exponential growth at the same time they are developing their skills in
summarizing.

How is it This component draws from evidence generated by the learners to

going? establish where they are making progress and where additional learning
is needed. Similar to the first question, this includes content, skills, and
understandings.
Example: Evidence suggests learners are making progress in identifying
the author’s purpose, but when working with their “shoulder buddy” their
summaries are simply repeating all the details.

Where will This final component makes meaning of the generated evidence and uses
we go next? that meaning making to plan the next steps in teaching and learning.
Example: To better clarify what is meant by summarizing, the teacher
plans to engage learners in co-constructing success criteria for “what
makes a good summary.” This involves comparing and contrasting
examples and non-examples.
208 Module 19

Looking specifically at the first question, where are we going, this requires us to lever-
age the learning intentions and success criteria associated with the learning experi-
ence or task. We have mentioned these two components of our classroom several
times throughout the playbook. Their importance cannot be overstated. If we—both
we and our students—are not clear on what they are learning, why they are learning it,
and what success looks like, we can hardly identify promising principles and learning
strategies to support the journey.

SUCCESS CRITERIA AND EVALUATION

Success criteria articulate what evidence learners must produce, what they must say
and do, to demonstrate their progress toward the learning intention. In addition to
success criteria providing guardrails for aligning our choice of strategies and support-
ing more goal-directed behavior in our learners, success criteria help us to be better
evaluators of our impact.

Use the space provided to describe how success criteria support the promising princi-
ples or practices and the learning strategies in this playbook. Be sure to include specific
examples from your classroom. We have provided examples to get you started.

How Is This Supported

Promising Principle or Practice Examples From My Classroom
by Success Criteria?

Motivation

Attention The success criteria help learners

know what to look for or direct their
attention to during the learning
experience or task. If the success
criteria are about identifying and
describing the parts of a cell, learners
are tipped off in what they need to
attend to in the learning.

Elaborate Encoding
 Generating and Gathering Evidence 209

How Is This Supported

Promising Principle or Practice Examples From My Classroom
by Success Criteria?

Retrieval and Practice

Cognitive Load The success criteria are clear,

specific, and concise to avoid
cognitive overload.

Productive Struggle

Feedback The feedback provided is specifically

aligned with the success criteria.

Goal Setting

Integrating Prior Knowledge Once I share the success criteria

with my learners, I ask them to list
the prior learning that is needed to
be successful. Then they work with
a partner to make sure they are
comfortable with those prior concepts
or ideas.

(Continued)
210 Module 19

(Continued)

How Is This Supported

Promising Principle or Practice Examples From My Classroom
by Success Criteria?

Summarizing

Mapping

Self-Testing

Elaborative Interrogation

PLANNING TO GATHER EVIDENCE

When planning to evaluate impact, formative assessments or checks for understand-
ing provide opportunities to generate evidence that we can gather and evaluate.
As we move forward in learning, we must partner with our learners to actively and
continuously monitor student learning. These checks for understanding can range in
complexity, intensity, and the means by which learners make their thinking visible. For
example, checks for understanding can be written, verbal, or kinesthetic, depending
 Generating and Gathering Evidence 211

on the criteria for success. The more directly and quickly we can obtain the necessary
evidence, the better. Using success criteria from Module 14, let’s look at an example in
Figure 19.2.

19.2 EXAMPLE OF AN EVIDENCE-GATHERING PLAN

Criteria for Success Tasks for Gathering Evidence

We can describe specific economic effects Learners will be asked to describe these
of the Crusades. effects to a neighbor; engage in a three-
minute write midway through class; and
complete an exit ticket at the end of class.

We can explain the relationship between Various activities include think-pair-

the Church’s rule and banking practices in share using guiding questions; student
Northern Italy. questioning during direct instruction;
guided practice with examples from the
textbook; and an exit ticket using clickers.

We can make inferences and support Various activities include looking at

those inferences about why the contrasting cases during direct instruction
Renaissance could not have started to identify essential characteristics of
elsewhere in Europe. the Renaissance; independently sorting
different conditions and then writing
out reasons for sorting categories;
creating a jigsaw to identify the essential
characteristics of the region; and
developing a concept map.

Source: Adapted from Sweeney and Harris (2016).

Notice that the verbs in the success criteria are highlighted, along with specific tasks
for gathering the evidence. The highlighted tasks are listed here. Next to each task,
identify which promising principle or learning strategy they use. There may be more
than one answer.

Three-minute write:

Think-pair-share using guiding questions:

Student questioning during direct instruction:

Jigsaw:

Developing a concept map:

212 Module 19

EXAMPLE OF AN EVIDENCE-GATHERING PLAN

Criteria for Success Tasks for Gathering Evidence

Source: Adapted from Sweeney and Harris (2016).

 Generating and Gathering Evidence 213

PLANNING TO COLLECT AND

ORGANIZE EVIDENCE
In addition to planning the evidence to gather, we have to develop ways of collecting or
organizing the evidence about declarative, procedural, and conditional learning. However,
what is new in this playbook is the collecting of evidence about students’ use of learn-
ing strategies and the impact of that use on their learning growth. Collecting an entrance
ticket, exit ticket, or other student-generated artifacts is one way of obtaining the evidence.
In addition, there needs to be a way of organizing evidence so that we can make meaning
of student responses. Rich conversations, interactions, and actions that occur outside of
tangible artifacts collected can also be used to determine impact (see Figure 19.3).

19.3 SAMPLE RECORD-KEEPING SHEET FOR COLLECTING EVIDENCE

Criteria for Success Observed Doing Heard Saying Saw Writing

We can describe specific

economic effects of the
Crusades.

We can explain the

relationship between the
Church’s rule and banking
practices in Northern Italy.

We can make inferences

and support those
inferences about why the
Renaissance could not have
started elsewhere in Europe.

Learning Strategies Observed Doing Heard Saying Saw Writing

Summarizing

Self-Testing

Elaborative Interrogation

Mapping

Source: Adapted from Sweeney and Harris (2016).

214 Module 19

RECORD-KEEPING SHEET FOR COLLECTING EVIDENCE

Criteria for Success Observed Doing Heard Saying Saw Writing

Learning Strategies Observed Doing Heard Saying Saw Writing

Summarizing

Self-Testing

Elaborative Interrogation

Mapping

Source: Adapted from Sweeney and Harris (2016).

 Generating and Gathering Evidence 215

When we gather evidence through seeing and listening, we gain insight into learners’
understanding, dispositions, and motivations. Collecting evidence through a handout
limits our evaluation to whether or not they completed the handout, nothing more.

MAKING SENSE OF THE EVIDENCE

Evaluating and organizing the evidence guides us in making decisions about what
happens next in our teaching and their learning. We evaluate evidence by noticing the
actions of our learners that reflect their understanding of the content and skills, as well
as their implementation and use of specific learning strategies. We must critically reflect
on the gradual release of responsibility.

What do I do next?

What do we do next?

What do learners collaboratively need to do next?

What do learners independently need to do next?

CONCLUSION
In the end, we must be fully aware of the impact resulting from the decisions we have
made in our classrooms. From adapting promising principles or practices based on the
local context of our classrooms, to explicitly teaching strategies to our learners, if what
we are doing moves learning forward, we must keep doing it. But as we continue to WHEN WE GATHER
do what works best, we must create a learning environment that releases the respon- EVIDENCE
sibility to our learners. When the semester ends or the year is over, will our learners THROUGH SEEING
know what to do when they don’t know what to do, and we are not around? That is how
AND LISTENING,
learning is supposed to work.
WE GAIN INSIGHT
INTO LEARNERS’
UNDERSTANDING,
DISPOSITIONS, AND
MOTIVATIONS.
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 Index
accountability partner, 7–8, 50, 52, 63, 74, effect size, 46, 57–58, 70
86, 97, 109, 119 elaborate encoding, 43, 67, 69, 70, 71, 73, 75
amplifying learning, 110, 112 elaborative interrogation, 9, 121, 127, 193–203, 210, 214
assessment-capable learners, 122 elaborative interrogation questions, 193–194
attention, 53–64, 68–69, 77, 92–93, 103, 112–113, 128–129, encoding, 64–70, 72, 74–77, 84, 86–87, 92–93, 111–112, 133,
133, 144–145, 153–154, 158, 172, 181, 195, 208 145, 154–155, 157–158, 165, 172, 181, 195
and motivation, 128–129 equations, 24–25, 68, 70–71, 185–186
in learning, 54, 55, 59, 64 balancing, 81, 116
Europe, 147, 162, 211, 213
background knowledge, 67, 105–106 evaluation, 5–6, 30, 32, 135, 138–139, 207–208, 215
barriers to learning, 4–6, 9, 11, 31, 33, 35, 125 evaluative thinking, 6, 50
beliefs and misconceptions, 38–39 evidence-gathering plan, 211–212
benefits of goal setting, 132, 141 evidence of impact, 5, 50
evidence of learning, 4, 6
challenges, 29–30, 33–34, 36–38, 42, 48, 105, 164, 184, 196 exit tickets, 48, 51, 61, 71, 73, 83, 85, 107, 117, 211, 213
characteristics and components of effective feedback, explicit strategy instruction, 121–130, 206
111, 119
classroom observations, 49, 71 factual statements, 193–194, 200–201
cognitive load, 41, 43, 88–95, 97–98, 111–112, 128–129, 133, feedback, 79, 82–83, 109–117, 119, 122–123, 126, 129–130,
145, 149, 158–159, 172–173, 181–182, 195 133, 135, 140–141, 151–152, 154, 158–159, 164–165,
cognitive load theory, 88–89, 93–94 177–178, 180–182, 184–185, 188–190, 195, 202–203
cognitive overload, 104–105, 209 for content, 114
cognitive resources, 56, 102, 181 constructive, 116–117
complexity, 91, 100–103, 173, 210 and learning, 83, 110, 115
components of learning, 22, 28 receiving, 115–117
concept map, 166, 170–175, 177, 211 sharing, 110, 112
concept mapping, 70–71, 127, 173 strategies, 114
conceptual learning, 144 to support, 130, 141, 154, 165, 178, 190, 203
conditional knowledge, 22, 24–28, 45, 77–78, 82, 90, 112,
128, 158, 198, 202 gathering evidence, 3, 6, 9, 35, 120, 205–215
consolidation and storage of learning, 78 generative learning, 127–129
content areas, 1, 4, 7, 24, 105, 193 generative processes, 67–68, 186
corrective feedback, 83, 182 germane cognitive load, 127, 129
criteria for success, 207, 211–214 goal setting, 7, 9, 121, 127, 131–135, 137–141, 184, 188, 191, 202, 209
goal-setting process, 134, 137–138, 140
declarative knowledge, 24–26 Goldilocks Zone, 99–102, 196
definition of learning, 14–16 gradual release of responsibility, 124–127, 130, 137–138, 157,
deliberate practice, 81–82, 112, 115 162, 164, 167, 178–179, 181, 188, 190, 193, 196
design and implementation of learning experiences and graphic organizer, 71, 83, 171, 173–175, 177
tasks, 3, 22, 30, 33, 55, 64, 92 guiding questions, 8, 50, 66, 163, 173–174, 211
design learning, 58
difficulty and complexity, 91, 100–103 individual learning, 123, 126
ineffective learning strategies, 33, 35, 125–126
effective feedback, 7, 30, 109, 111, 114, influence on learning acquisition, 31–32
116–117, 119, 182, 202 instructional coach, 7–8, 50, 52, 63, 74, 86, 97, 109, 119
reciprocal nature of, 111, 119 integrating prior knowledge, 121, 127, 143–153, 161, 192, 209
effective learning strategies and techniques, 128 intrinsic cognitive load, 91–93, 128, 173

219
220 How Learning Works

jigsaw, 197–198, 199, 211 on feedback, 110

on motivation, 44–46, 48, 53–54
knowledge maps, 166, 169, 171, 173–175, 177 on productive struggle, 101, 109
Krebs Cycle, 70–71 on retrieval and practice, 77–78, 87
on teaching and learning, 33, 122
learner motivation, 6, 131 responsibility for learning, 19, 34, 124
learning acquisition, 28, 30, 39 retrieval, 32, 76–82, 87, 94, 111, 133, 158–159, 181
learning retrieval and practice, 41, 43, 75–79, 81–85, 87, 92–93,
by chance, 14, 30 104–105, 145, 157–159, 167, 172, 178, 181–182, 195
by design, 14, 30, 34, 40, 92, 94, 101, 153 benefits of, 78, 87
by mapping, 166 conditions of, 78, 87
learning environment, 30, 91, 200, 215 and productive struggle, 195
learning expectations, 2, 54, 60
learning goals, 59, 132, 139 scaffolding, 14, 31, 58–59, 102, 106, 125, 147, 157, 162, 188, 197
learning intentions, 1–2, 7–8, 25–26, 55–57, 111–113, 122, science, 3–5, 7, 21–22, 30, 40–41, 44–50, 56, 59–60, 67–68,
124, 144, 146–148, 150, 152, 161–163, 175, 185, 208 70–71, 79, 81, 108–118, 131, 206–207
learning journey, 4, 110, 112, 125 science of learning
learning management system (LMS), 83 and attention, 56, 62, 64
learning myths, 38, 40 and learning strategies, 207
learning process, 22, 27–30, 33, 38, 69, 103 on cognitive load, 97
learning progression, 83, 122–123 on encoding, 74, 86
learning survey, 16–17, 19, 179 on feedback, 110, 112
limitations of learners, 103 on motivation, 52
LMS (learning management system), 83 on productive struggle, 108
on retrieval and practice, 77, 81
main ideas, 158, 161–162, 166, 185–186, 207 selective attention, 33, 35, 48, 56, 144–145, 154
mapping, 9, 121, 164, 166–178, 184, 192, 210, 214 self-testing, 9, 121, 179–192, 197, 202, 210, 213–214
mathematics, 1, 15, 30, 32, 81, 90–91, 93, 94, 103 113, 114, 116 solving systems of equations, 24–25
misconceptions, 33, 35, 38–40, 48, 105–106, 179, spaced practice, 6, 82, 127
181, 202 standards, 2, 106, 142
monitoring student learning, 210 stimulus-response learning, 16, 32, 39, 82
motivation, 41–54, 58, 64, 68–69, 92–93, 103, 105, 128–129, storage of learning, 29, 32–34, 46, 56, 64, 68, 78, 110, 156, 179
131–134, 141, 145, 195, 215 student questioning, 211
student responses, 35, 213
naïve practice, 81–84 student work, 49, 115
narrative essay, 173–174 success criteria, 1–3, 21–22, 28–29, 36–37, 55–57, 59–60,
111–116, 122, 146–147, 154–155, 157–158, 161–163, 175,
patterns, 13, 68–70, 82, 93, 157, 162 177–179, 185–187, 208–211
plan of action, 133, 138, 140 summarizing, 6, 9, 68, 71, 154–163, 165–166, 177, 184, 207,
PLC+, 8, 50, 65 210, 213–214
practice and feedback, 104, 126, 162, 177 synthesizing learning, 14
prior knowledge, 33, 48, 56–57, 67, 92, 143–147, 149,
151–152, 154, 158, 161 testing, 79, 179–183, 188
problem solving, 2, 14–15, 82 theme, 2–3, 168, 171, 175, 177
procedural knowledge, 24–26, 70 think-pair-share, 48–49, 60, 211
productive struggle, 41, 43, 98–109, 112, 129, 133, 135, 145, transfer, 3, 31–33, 35, 105, 132
149, 158–159, 172–173, 181–182, 195–196
progress, 3, 55, 102, 104, 116, 131–133, 135, 137–139, 208 unproductive struggle, 101, 105, 109

research Visible Learning MetaX, 6, 46, 57, 188, 193

on attention, 55, 59, 64, 103
on cognitive load, 89, 98 Wittrock’s Generative Processes, 67, 128–129
on elaborate encoding, 67, 75 working memory, 48, 89–91, 94, 104, 128
About the Authors
John Almarode, PhD, is an associate professor
and executive director of teaching and
learning in the College of Education at James
Madison University (JMU). He has worked with
schools, classrooms, and teachers all over the
world and has presented locally, nationally,
and internationally on the application of the
science of learning to the classroom, school,
and home environments. At JMU, he works
with preservice teachers and actively pursues
his research interests, including the science of
learning and the design and measurement of
classroom environments that promote student
engagement and learning. John has authored
multiple articles, reports, book chapters, and
over a dozen books on effective teaching and
learning in today’s schools and classrooms.

Douglas Fisher, PhD, is Professor of

Educational Leadership at San Diego State
University and a teacher leader at Health
Sciences High. Previously, Doug was an early
intervention teacher and elementary school
educator. He is the recipient of an International
Reading Association William S. Grey citation
of merit and an Exemplary Leader award from
the Conference on English Leadership of
NCTE. He has published numerous articles
on teaching and learning as well as books
such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook, PLC+,
Visible Learning for Literacy, Comprehension:
The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading, and How
Tutoring Works. Doug loves being an educator
and hopes to share that passion with others.

(Continued)

221
222 How Learning Works

Nancy Frey, PhD, is Professor in Educational

Leadership at San Diego State and a teacher
leader at Health Sciences High and Middle
College. She is a member of the International
Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel.
Her published titles include Visible Learning in
Literacy, This Is Balanced Literacy, Removing
Labels, and Rebound. Nancy is a credentialed
special educator, reading specialist, and
administrator in California and learns from
teachers and students every day.
 Helping educators make the greatest impact

C O R W I N H A S O N E M I S S I O N : to e n h a n c e e d u c ati o n th ro u g h

intentional professional learning.

We build long-term relationships with our authors, educators,

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 Every student deserves a great teacher—
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Harnessing decades of Visible Catapult teachers beyond learning Disrupt the cycle of implicit
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establishing a relationship and or even on your own—this step- actions; printables; and
credibility, addressing student by-step playbook expands teacher ready-to-go tools for planning
confidence and challenges, setting understanding of how success and instruction.
shared goals, helping a student learn criteria can be utilized to maximize
how to learn, teaching and learning student learning.
content, and establishing a habit of
deliberate practice.

Explore a new model of reading When you increase your credibility Tap your intuition, collaborate
instruction that goes beyond with students, student motivation with your peers, and put the
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Comprehension is the structured students learn more. This playbook to work in your classroom
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