Say, See, & Do Teaching
Because students have varying attention spans it is important to package lessons that allow them to use new information before they forget about it. If they do not use it within their Age + 5 time (as discussed in Motivation Through Learning) their short term memory weeds it out and it is not worked into long term memory.
Many ineffective lessons are structured like this:
input, input, input
output (Jones, 2007).
However, an easy and effective change is just as simple as:
input, output, input, output... etc (Jones, 2007).
Basically, a lesson needs to be structured so new information is immediately put into practice. This way information is worked into long term memory rather then forced to fade in short term memory.
There are three different stages of an effective lesson (Jones, 2007).
First Stage: Setting the Stage: This requires an anticipatory set. A story, joke, whatever it takes to get the students excited. Tell students what they have learned that they will be using. Inform the students what new thing they will be learning in the new lessons.
Second Stage: Acquisition: This is the main event where students learn! In this step teachers use the "See, Say, Do" teaching steps. They are as follows:
Say: The teacher explains the new information in short steps of manageable information.
See: The teacher demonstrates the new information in some format.
Do: The students repeat what they have just learned in their own school work. The teacher checks for student understanding through "structured practice". Structured practice is an extremely important step as it sets the stage for future independent practice (or homework) at home.
Third Stage: Consolidation: This third and final step is practice, practice, practice. This is where independent practice takes place towards mastery. A musician or athlete faces this all their lives as they strive to become better and better. Perfection is almost nearly impossible in these fields, especially music, as the field is constantly changing and evolving.
Many ineffective lessons are structured like this:
input, input, input
output (Jones, 2007).
However, an easy and effective change is just as simple as:
input, output, input, output... etc (Jones, 2007).
Basically, a lesson needs to be structured so new information is immediately put into practice. This way information is worked into long term memory rather then forced to fade in short term memory.
There are three different stages of an effective lesson (Jones, 2007).
First Stage: Setting the Stage: This requires an anticipatory set. A story, joke, whatever it takes to get the students excited. Tell students what they have learned that they will be using. Inform the students what new thing they will be learning in the new lessons.
Second Stage: Acquisition: This is the main event where students learn! In this step teachers use the "See, Say, Do" teaching steps. They are as follows:
Say: The teacher explains the new information in short steps of manageable information.
See: The teacher demonstrates the new information in some format.
Do: The students repeat what they have just learned in their own school work. The teacher checks for student understanding through "structured practice". Structured practice is an extremely important step as it sets the stage for future independent practice (or homework) at home.
Third Stage: Consolidation: This third and final step is practice, practice, practice. This is where independent practice takes place towards mastery. A musician or athlete faces this all their lives as they strive to become better and better. Perfection is almost nearly impossible in these fields, especially music, as the field is constantly changing and evolving.