Using a developmental record as a tool to improve classroom management
Giving and checking instructions
“Ok everyone. STOP! Let me explain once more what I want you to do. STOP, please. Everyone listen please!’
This was a frequent refrain in my teaching and one I have heard throughout my years of observing teachers. I also regularly collect feedback from teachers on their teaching challenges, and class management always features high on their lists. As a result, I decided to revisit class management and design and deliver training, with a particular focus on giving and checking instructions. I have noticed that this important aspect is still often forgotten or executed incorrectly, thus exposing continuing classroom management issues..
It goes without saying that good instructions are essential to ensure learners are capable of completing a task. But, no matter how good we think the instructions we give are, we often let ourselves down by not checking them. This can lead to us needing to repair our instructions after students have started a task. Cast your mind back to a time when you have had to say the first sentence above in a class because half of the students don’t know what they are doing. It can be chaotic and confusing for students and as a result we need to make sure we check that all students are clear about what is expected of them.
My problems with repairing instructions were so acute that during my Trinity Diploma course I decided to complete a developmental record on giving and checking instructions. I wanted to focus primarily on my oral instructions and I decided to use a checklist adapted from ‘Teaching Large Classes’ (Nolasco and Arthur 1988), before each lesson to focus my instruction giving. I also used the checklist at the end of the lesson to evaluate my instructions.
The checklist I used is as follows. I encourage you to complete it yourself and please be honest. :)
This checklist is a great way to self-evaluate before and after lessons (change the tense) to keep you on track. You can see from your results the areas that you will need to improve in and the areas you are becoming strong in. Can you find the points in the questionnaire that are desirable and which should be ticked as never? (**Answers at the bottom of the article)
After completing the checklist I then started to think about how I would get better at giving and checking instructions. I read up on the subject, asked colleagues and did some peer observation of colleagues to see how they went about the process.
The 3 key maxims that arose for me were from this research were:
KISS (Keep it Short and Simple) - Like most things in a lesson instructions should be written or developed with the students at the forefront of your thinking. You should grade language and make sure that your instructions can be understood by the weakest student in the class
Check instructions with simple Information Checking Questions (ICQs) - Look at the following situation, instructions and ICQs for an example.
Situation: You want the class to open their student books on page 50 and do exercise 5.Instructions: “Open your student books to page 50 and do exercise 5.”ICQs: “What book are you going to open?” ·“What page will you turn to?” ·“What exercise do I want you to do?”
The ICQs may look basic and could be seen as being patronizing but they are essential for you to ensure everyone is aware of what is expected of them. This then allows you to monitor and provide support with language rather than task completion.
Location, location, location – Varying where you stand in class is a subtle but important aspect in giving instructions. You have to consider everyone and if you and giving instructions from the front all the time you are not considering those students at the back who may not be able to hear or even allowing them to hide. Move around and try different locations to maintain focus from all.
After completing the checklist and research I then started to think about my lesson and specifically the instructions I needed to give for students to complete a task. I broke this into three parts and used questions to ask myself to guide the development. Remember my developmental objective is to give clear instructions and check these instructions to avoid repairing during an activity. Below are the questions and a sample of the answers I provided.
Part 1a. The Developmental Objective (to be filled in before your lesson)
How are you applying the developmental objective in this lesson? What approach are you using to incorporate the objective?
I am applying the developmental objective by using a checklist to focus myself on giving good instructions. I will look at focusing on the content of my instructions. I plan to do this by looking specifically at the instructions I will need to give and then grading this language to the level required by the learner in order for them to understand. I hope to be able to effectively produce instructions that learners will understand first time. These instructions along with questions to check understanding will be written as an attachment to my lesson plan. By doing so I hope to see the language I am likely to produce and then amend it as I see fit.
· You might notice in the above that I decided to write out the instructions and ICQs and add this to my plan. This was a great help and allowed me to reflect on what worked effectively.
Part 1b. The Lesson Plan (to be filled in before your lesson)
Which part of your plan relates directly (or involves) your developmental objective? How does this aspect of your Developmental objective differ from aspects covered in other lessons you've given?
Stage 3 relates directly to my developmental objective as I will have to give complex instructions. This aspect of my developmental objective differs from aspects covered in other lessons I have given as I am more focused now on what I need to do to give instructions effectively. I am going to plan the instruction stage of the lesson carefully and include in the lesson plan what instructions I need to give. By scripting these questions I hope to be able to see what materials I could bring in order to help the clarity of the instructions. I will also be able to then see what questions I need to ask in order to clarify these instructions. The instructions are complex as they require learners to complete an activity by doing a number of different tasks (moving around the room, completing a worksheet and checking their work).
· Again the focus here is on me scripting my instructions. By spending time doing this I hoped to become fluent and make this an integral part of my teaching. This systematic approach in a developmental stage of my teaching will become normalized and after a period of time I will not have to write down all instructions and ICQs as it will be natural as saying hello to the students.
Part 2. Actual execution of the lesson (To be completed immediately after the lesson)
Did the lesson go better than/worse than/about the same as you had anticipated? Why?
I felt very happy about the lesson and feel it went better than normal. I think this is due to the fact I was better prepared and had a focus. I felt the instructions I had written helped me and gave me confidence when I came to that stage of the lesson.
With regard to your developmental objective, which parts were you particularly pleased with and why precisely?
I felt I was more aware and in control of the lesson. I felt I had more time to monitor and check understanding of the actual task learners were asked to do. I was very pleased that I did not need to repair any misunderstandings which proved my instructions were fairly clear.
With regard to your developmental objective, which parts, if any, were you unhappy about and why?
I was unhappy with my checking of the instructions given. I did not feel confident at this stage and some students looked confused at the questions I was asking and why I was asking these questions. More work is required in this area.
How would you characterize the learners’ overall response to the lesson as a whole?
I think the learners saw a happier teacher who was more focused, aware and effective.
· Stage 2 is very important and the direct questions allowed me to focus on what I was trying to achieve and to an extent how the students felt. Later on in my development as I became more confident I would utilise the students’ impressions more and look to garner data directly from them about my abilities as a teacher. This stage needs to be done immediately after the lesson to ensure that the answers are in real time and a true reflection.
Stage 3. Reflection: Assessment of your progress as a teacher and your developmental objective:
(a) With regard to the objective for development you have set yourself, to what extent have targets identified in previous lessons been addressed? If they haven't been addressed, try and explain this and say what adjustments you plan to make. What aspect are you going to focus on for the next time you teach and why? What have you learned from this lesson that informs this?
I felt I produced good instructions but can clearly see I need to improve. I was particularly happy that I did not need to repair any misunderstandings and will continue to use this as a benchmark for good instructions.
In the next lesson I plan to continue improve upon the quality of the content of my instructions. I will focus on different ways of wording the instructions given and include these in my plan. I also want to ask better questions to check understanding of the instructions given. My learners also seemed confused but this might be due to the fact that I have not utilized these questions much in previous lessons.
· This reflection can be done later after you have had time to think more deeply about your objectives
My record lasted for 15 lessons and this was incredibly thorough. By the end of this I was much better at this aspect of my teaching and no longer had to script instructions or ICQs
I hope you found this useful and can see some benefit of a developmental record to your own teaching. My challenge to you now is to think of an area of your teaching you want to improve and come up with your own developmental record to aid your development. You don’t necessarily have to do 15 lessons but set a goal before you start and stick to it.
**All the behaviour in the checklist is desirable except for No.15, No. 10 and No. 13. These should be ticked ‘never’
