Page 178 - Making Instruction Work

chap 15 3/11/97 5:08 PM Page 164

164 making instruction work

Instruction: Teaches students what they need to know
before they can practice the objective. (As needed.)

Practice/feedback: Provides practice in the objective,
along with timely information about performance and
progress. (Always included.)

Self-check: Provides students a way to check whether
they are ready to demonstrate their ability to perform as
the objective requires. (As needed.)

NOTE: The skill check is not listed here as it is not con-
tained in the body of the module.
Notice that the floor plan is not media specific; that is, it can
be followed no matter who or what presents the instruction.
No matter how the instruction is delivered, students should
know at all times why they are doing what they’re doing and
how to tell when they’re doing it satisfactorily, and they should
be afforded an opportunity to practice until they can perform
as desired.
Different lessons will have somewhat different floor plans,
simply because the objectives are different and need different
module components to accomplish them. Where one module
will contain nothing but practice and feedback, another will
have considerable guided presentation with information,
examples, and demonstrations. Where one can be self-paced,
another will need to be group-paced.
The goal is to let students in on the secret of what they will
be expected to do, teach them whatever they need to know
before they can practice the objective, provide practice and
feedback, and then offer a skill check that will assess whether
the objective has been accomplished. Use whatever combina-
tion of module components are needed to get you there.