Page 213 - Making Instruction Work

chap 17 3/11/97 5:12 PM Page 199

sequencing 199

they would use if guided by the students’ definition of simple
to complex. And so on.
Fortunately, we can now take most of the guesswork out of
sequencing. Here’s how.

How to Do It

The goals are to inflame the students’ interest in the subject,
keep their motivation high, and make sure they have accom-
plished the course objectives by the time they leave.

1. Begin the course with the topic of highest interest to the
students, regardless of where the full treatment of that
topic falls within the course. For example, imagine you
have signed up for a course in locksmithing because
you want to learn to pick locks like the detectives on TV.
You show up for the course ready and eager to get started.
You sandpaper your fingertips and get ready to pick your
first lock. But the first week is on the history of lock-
smithing, the second covers the theory of locks, and the
third is on assembly and disassembly. By then there are
cobwebs under your armpits, mildew on your brain, and
you’re wondering why you came.

No matter what the item of highest interest to your stu-
dents may be, begin there. Jerk them into the course by
giving them a taste of the goodies.(As one of the testers of
this book remarked, “A picture is worth a thousand
words; an experience is worth a thousand pictures.”)
Spend at least half an hour on that topic, and let them
know that there will be more about it later. Then, try to
sprinkle the items of high student interest throughout the
course.