Lesson Segment: Addressing Content
Design Question: #3 – Helping Students Practice and Deepen New Knowledge
Element 20:
Helping Students Revise Knowledge
A teacher’s growth in using instructional strategies can be tracked along the developmental
scale. Coaching and growth needs vary for each developmental category on this scale. A
teacher at the “beginning” level on the development scale has very different needs than a
teacher at the “applying” level. Therefore, in order to track a teacher’s growth in using this
strategy, it is important to begin by pinpointing his/her current level of use.
Monitoring for the desired effect of a strategy is a critical component addressed in the
developmental scale. Monitoring is the teacher act of checking evidence for desired student
learning of critical content during instruction, which includes student action and teacher
witnessing of that action.
For this element, the teacher engages students in revision of previous knowledge by correcting
errors and misconceptions as well as adding new information.
The desired effect of this element states that students make additions and deletions to
previous knowledge that deepen their understanding.
Developmental Scale
Beginning
Uses strategy
incorrectly or with
parts missing.
Developing
Engages students in
revising their
knowledge of
previous content by
correcting errors and
misconceptions, but
the majority of
students are either
not monitored for or
not displaying the
desired effect of the
strategy.
© 2016 Learning Sciences International.
Applying
Engages students in
revising their
knowledge of
previous content by
correcting errors and
misconceptions and
monitors for evidence
of the extent to which
these revisions
deepen the majority of
students’
understanding.
Innovating
Adapts and creates
new strategies for
unique student needs
and situations in order
for the desired effect
to be evident in all
students.
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The following scale has been enhanced to demonstrate common mistakes, examples and nonexamples, along with ideas for scaffolding and extended learning.
BEGINNING – Uses strategy incorrectly or with parts missing.
Some common mistakes include:
• The teacher specifies what students should write in their academic notebook.
• The teacher asks students to revise noncritical information.
• The teacher provides little to no guidance such that it does not result in a meaningful
revision of students’ thinking.
• The teacher allows students to make corrections rather than provide feedback to
their partner’s notebook.
• The teacher corrects rather than comments or asks questions on students’
assignments and does not guide them to revision.
DEVELOPING – Engages students in revising their knowledge of previous content by
correcting errors and misconceptions, but the majority of students are either not monitored
for or not displaying the desired effect of the strategy.
Some examples of typical, correct use of the strategy include:
• The teacher has students revise and explain their thinking after an assignment, or
correct their homework.
• The teacher asks students to review what was previously recorded in their academic
or electronic notebooks to identify what information was initially accurate and which
needs to be updated.
• The teacher comments or asks questions on students’ assignments then has them
revise the assignment based on the comments.
• The teacher has partners compare academic notebooks and provide feedback to
each other.
© 2016 Learning Sciences International.
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APPLYING – Engages students in revising their knowledge of previous content by
correcting errors and misconceptions and monitors for evidence of the extent to which
these revisions deepen the majority of students’ understanding.
At this point in development, the teacher uses the strategy with increased accuracy and
fluency while staying focused on student outcome, or desired effect. At the “applying” level,
the teacher must provide opportunity for students to demonstrate that the strategy is having
the desired effect – in this case, students make additions and deletions to previous
knowledge that deepen their understanding. Planning for the implementation of this strategy
allows the teacher to identify how he/she will monitor for the desired effect. Some examples
of monitoring may include:
• The teacher reads the revisions in academic notebooks to ensure the modifications
are accurate.
• The teacher listens and interacts as partners give feedback, to ensure their thinking
deepens their understanding of the content.
• The teacher examines and provides feedback on written student work that reflects a
modification in students’ thinking.
• The teacher observes and gives feedback as students revise their academic
notebooks.
INNOVATING – Adapts and creates new strategies for unique student needs and
situations in order for the desired effect to be evident in all students. In order to do this, the
teacher scaffolds, extends, and/or creates a macrostrategy as necessary. As a result of
this, ALL students make additions and deletions to previous knowledge that deepen their
understanding.
Examples of providing unique support to meet the individual needs of all students include:
• The teacher guides students in the revision then gradually releases control back to
students.
• The teacher provides resources that help guide student thinking (e.g. articles citing
various perspectives of the same issue, historical sources from various time periods
of the same issue, etc.)
• The teacher refers students back to thinking maps created using the critical content
(e.g. K-W-L charts, SWOT analyses, etc.)
• The teacher asks students to respond to one specific question while reviewing their
own, or a peer’s academic notebook.
Examples of extension include:
• The teacher asks students to study the content further and continue to revise their
thinking over long periods of time.
• The teacher has students cite specific reasons why knowledge must be revised and
provide examples of each (i.e. changes in knowledge as a result of ongoing
research, historical contexts, new discoveries, etc.)
• The teacher points out (without comment or question) where revisions need to occur
in students’ assignments and asks the student to determine why a revision is
needed.
• The teacher asks students to create assessment questions related to the content as
they review previous lessons or notes.
© 2016 Learning Sciences International.
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