"Sally" was put in my class because she was a smart girl who was having a terrible time with reading fast enough. She just didn't seem to understanding how to do it. The red line indicates where a 2nd grader should be at over time. Students at or above the red line are considered "on benchmark." And Sally was clearly below benchmark. Her parents were concerned, her past teacher was out of ideas, and the principal thought I could help her.
As time went on, I used by very best tricks to help Sally get motivated. She got motivated. I modeled the benefits of a strong work ethic. She worked hard. I showed her the joys of reading. She wouldn't stop reading at home. Then, after Christmas break, I gave her yet another reading assessment. She was making progress, but not the kind of progress that he parents wanted, and not the kind of progress that would get her on level by the end of the year. I just couldn't find the missing piece.
Then, on February 10, a miracle occurred. Was it the excitement of the impending Valentines Day party? Was it the melting snow? Was it a new research-based reading program? Was it her new ADHD meds? Nope. It was a 30-second intervention. After 30-seconds, Sally's words per minute nearly doubled. She maintained that jumped for the rest of the year. She never dropped below benchmark again, and she finished the year in seventh place among her classmates. 30-seconds made all the difference.
The Twin Sins
But enough about me. Let's talk about a different Grant for a while. In Understanding By Design, author Grant Wiggins describes the Twin Sins of Design. They are "Coverage" and "Activity." Coverage is the boring history teacher who destroys your will to live by spouting names and dates at a blistering speed because the content must be "covered." Activity is the enthusiastic kindergarten teacher who spends four days making marmalade in mugs to help her student love the letter m. The kids are involved and engaged--but do they know what an M looks like yet?
The Backward Design Model
To guard against these twin sins, Wiggins introduces the Backward Design Model. That is, a teacher begins by first asking, "What am I trying to accomplish here?" The worksheets, visual aids, and anecdotes come later.
Although the Backward Design Model follows a very logic, step-wise method, Wiggins admits that the process is actually quite messy, and doesn't always fit the prescribe model chronologically. Regardless of when the steps happen, here is their conceptual progression.
- Identify the Desired Result – What’s the point of what I am teaching? Examples might include "Student will read with sufficient fluency to support comprehension of text." or "Students will gain appreciate for the work of Martin Luther King, Jr."
- Determine Acceptable Evidence – What counts as mastered? Examples might include "Sally will read at a rate of 87 words per minute with 99% accuracy." or "Students will be able to assemble a scrapbook of artifacts Dr. King's rallies and explain how the artifact represents the events that took place at the rally."
- Plan Learning Experiences and Instruction – What will I actually do to bring about learning? Examples include "Teach lesson 48-53 in the Saxon Phonics book, omitting questions that don't relate to digraphs and diphthongs." or "Have each student find a speech given by Rev. King and present it to the class."
Wiggins quotes author Stephen Covey's principle of effectiveness, "Begin with the end in mind." Simple reason suggests that a person is more inclined to end up at a desired destination if one knows the destination to which one should travel. By focusing on outcomes first, an instructor is better able to design and develop an educational experience that will yield those outcomes.
The Wrap-Up
This was my secret with Sally. On February 10, I whispered to Sally. "I want to see how fast you can read. I don't care what you learn. I don't care if you use good expression. I don't care if you mess up a few words. I want to see you fly through this." Once Sally knew how to "win" the game of reading, she did. I can't believe it took me six months to realize that I hadn't taught her the one things she needed most.
How embarrassing.
Okay, you're turn. What is your Sally experience? How would the Backward Design Model have prevented it from happening?
Hey Grant,
That is just a brilliant story. Well told, as well. Thanks for sharing.
Winning the game & gamifying classwork has been a favorite of mine for years. When a student (or anyone) views their goal as more of a game-oriented process the thing becomes fun. Then the individual really takes ownership of it - like Sally did.
Line graphs are brilliant as well. Did you show Sally her progress on the graph? There's a very cool speed reading program called EyeQ (Links to an external site.). I've used it to help some of my students improve their reading speed (as well as my own). It's doubled & even tripled reading speeds - to over 200 words for one prodigious kiddo. It's gamified & users score badges for progress & can see their progress going up & down on a graph - very strong motivation.
I enjoy Wiggins articulation of a logical process of curriculum design. I feel it is very intuitive, really just the way that I think about problem-solving. It's very nice to have it written out in an elegant template.
With that said, I'm not sure that the Backward Design Model would have led you any faster to your genius stroke of coaching motivation. In fact, I think analysis of the speed reading situation, based on Wiggins model, might have led to academic paralysis & frustration. Your spurring Sally into an inspirational second wind was more of a spontaneous light-bulb thing which we are occasionally grateful to be given.
Does that make sense?
At any rate, Bravo, my good Man! Keep up that #1 2nd Grade Teacher status!
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