Page 228 - Making Instruction Work

chap 18 3/11/97 5:14 PM Page 214

214 making instruction work

need for the instruction and answers the question,“How
much _________ should I teach?”

3. Each student studies and practices only those skills not yet
mastered to the level required by the objectives. As a result,
you won’t waste time and student motivation by teach-
ing them things they already know, but you’ll give them
enough practice to master the skills being taught.

4. Student progress is controlled by their own competence.
Application of this characteristic prevents student time
and motivation from being wasted by requiring more
advanced students to wait while others catch up. It also
means slower students won’t have to short-change them-
selves on practice to keep up.

5. Instruction is directly related to accomplishment of the
objectives. Most or all instruction time will be devoted to
teaching what needs to be learned.

6. Instructional materials impose a minimum of obstacles
between the learners and the learning. Thus, unnecessary
impediments to learning are avoided.

7. Instruction is presented through the simplest delivery sys-
tems consistent with the objectives, the learners, and the
learning environment. This saves time and money by
ensuring that students will get the instruction they need
through the simplest and most direct media that will do
the job.

8. Students are provided with an opportunity to practice
each objective and to obtain task-diagnostic feedback
regarding the quality of their performance. (Note: Task-
diagnostic feedback is explained in Chapter 20,