Content Enhancement:
A strategic approach to planning and teaching content
to academically diverse groups of students.
Dan Boudah, Ph.D.
East Carolina University
boudahd@ecu.edu
The Challenge
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Large volume of information
Same amount of instructional time
Education and Information Demands
1950s
Content instructional time/school hours: (7:30/8:30 – 2:30/3:30)
Teachers complete the curriculum
1970s
Content instructional time /school hours: (7:30/8:30 – 2:30/3:30)
Feeling stress to finish the curriculum
Teachers do not complete the curriculum
Teachers Ask: Where did all the time go?
Currently
Content instructional time/school hours: (7:30/8:30 – 2:30/3:30)
Teachers face more difficulty completing the curriculum
Teachers falling further behind
Content/Information explosion
Information doubling every 900 days or less
The Challenge
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Large volume of information
Same amount of instructional time
High expectations for student
achievement
Academic Demands in
Secondary Education
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Acquiring info from written material
Acquiring info from class discussions
Demonstrating knowledge on primarily on
tests
Expressing understanding in writing
Remembering large amounts of new vocab
Higher order thinking
Working independently
Being self-motivated
The Challenge

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
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Large volume of information
Same amount of instructional time
High expectations for student
achievement
Greater cultural diversity among
students
Greater academic diversity among
students
The Challenge





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Large volume of information
Same amount of instructional time
High expectations for student achievement
Greater cultural diversity among students
Greater academic diversity among students
Value of the content is questioned
The Challenge
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

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Large volume of information
Same amount of instructional time
High expectations for student achievement
Greater cultural diversity among students
Greater academic diversity among students
Value of the content is questioned
Unrealistic planning expectations
Learning is difficult for many students
Many students have difficulty:
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Distinguishing important from unimportant
information
Identifying how to organize information
meaningfully
Relating information to a limited range of
background experiences
Remembering large quantities of information
Generating purposes and rationales for
learning content
Breaking down complex concepts for learning
Lion
Nissan
Orange
Saturn
Whale
Ford
Monkey
Banana
Apple
Toyota
Cherry
Dog
Lemon
Snake
Volvo
So how do we address such
challenges?
Content Enhancement
What is Content Enhancement?
Content Enhancement
•Focuses on helping All students learn
critical content required in the core
curriculum, regardless of literacy levels.
all
most
some
•Teachers compensate for limited literacy levels by
using targeted planning, explicit teaching routines,
and visual devices to promote content mastery.
Content Enhancement
A way of teaching an academically diverse group
of students in which:
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both group and individual needs are valued and met;
enables all students to cognitively access the
curriculum;
the integrity of the content is maintained;
critical features of the content are selected and
transformed in a manner that promotes student
learning; and
instruction is carried out in a partnership with
students.
Instructional Principles:
Learning is enhanced when teachers…
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Focus on “how” to learn, as well as
“what” to learn
Model/Demonstrate learning and
performance for students
Include guided as well as independent
practice
Provide well-designed feedback
Feature frequent review
Content Enhancement is all
about…
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Planning
Teaching
SMARTER
Planning and Teaching
Select Critical Outcomes & Questions
 Map the Critical Content
 Analyze Potential Difficulties
 Reach Enhancement & Design

Decisions
Teaching Devices
Types used to: Verbal
presentation
Organize
Summarization
Chunking
Advance
organizer
Visual
presentation
Outline
Web
Hierarchical
organizer
Table
Flowchart
Teaching Devices
Types used to:
Promote
understanding
Verbal
presentation
Analogy
Example
Synonym
Comparison
Metaphor
Simile
Visual
presentation
Symbol
Concrete object
Picture
Model
Diagram
Teaching Devices
Types used to: Verbal
presentation
Describe
Current events
Past events
Fictional story
Personal story
Hypothetical
scenario
Visual
presentation
Film
Video
Teaching Devices
Types used to: Verbal
presentation
Demonstrate Role play
Dramatic
portrayal
Visual
presentation
Physical
gesture or
movement
Movable
objects
Demonstration
Teaching Devices
Types used to: Verbal
presentation
Promote
Acronyms
recall
Keywords
Visual
presentation
Visual images
Drawings
SMARTER
Planning and Teaching
Select Critical Outcomes & Questions
 Map the Critical Content
 Analyze Potential Difficulties
 Reach Enhancement & Design Decisions
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Teach Strategically
Teaching Strategically
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Cue
Do
Review
SMARTER
Planning and Teaching
Select Critical Outcomes & Questions
 Map the Critical Content
 Analyze Potential Difficulties
 Reach Enhancement & Design Decisions

Teach Strategically
 Evaluate Student Outcomes
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SMARTER
Planning and Teaching

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Select Critical Outcomes & Questions
Map the Critical Content
Analyze Potential Difficulties
Reach Enhancement & Design Decisions
Teach Strategically
 Evaluate Student Outcomes
 Revisit and Revise

Strategic Instruction Model
(SIM)
Math
Strategies
Learning
Strategies
Curriculum
Content
Enhancement
Routines
Teaming
& Support
Series
Motivation
Strategies
Social
Skills
Curriculum
Content Enhancement Routines
include
Routines for Organizing &
Understanding Information
Routines for Understanding
& Remembering Concepts
Framing
Concept Mastery
Survey
Concept Anchoring
Unit Organizer
Concept
Comparison
Course Organizer
Recall
Enhancement
The FRAME Routine
Key Topic
Progressive Era
is about…
a period of social change in the U. S.
Main idea
Social Problems
Essential details
Main idea
Tools for Social Change
Essential details
Main idea
Social Changes
Essential details
Unsafe food
Muckrakers wrote
about problems
Meat Inspection Act
Monopolies
Bully pulpits forced
new laws
Anti- trust Act
Unsafe and unfair
working conditions
Activists organized
protests
Commerce and Labor
Departments
Limited voting rights
Demonstrators
created public pressure
Voting rights
expanded
So What? (What’s important to understand about this?)
To really create social change, many people
have to be organized, outspoken, and persistent!

Key Words
United
States
Athens
leaders
accountable
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CONVEY CONCEPT
OFFER OVERALL
CONCEPT
Democracy
CONCEPT DIAGRAM

a form of government

NOTE KEY WORDS
CLASSIFY
CHARACTERISTICS
Always Present
Sometimes Present
leaders accountable by elections
direct representation
citizens have equal voting rights
indirect representation
individuals can oppose government
centralized power
all views are tolerated
decentralized power
statement of civil & political rights
separation of power
Never Present
rule by king
rule by dictator
censorship of press
hereditary transfer of power
unified power
views
tolerated
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EXPLORE EXAMPLES
Examples:
United States
direct
China in 1993
England in 1993
Athens (500 B.C.)
indirect
rule by dictator
Nonexamples:
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
Russia
1993
England under Henry VIII
Macedonia (under Alexander)
PRACTICE WITH NEW EXAMPLE
TIE DOWN A
DEFINITION
A democracy is a form of government in which leaders are accountable to the people through
elections, citizens have equal voting rights, individuals can oppose the government, all views are
tolerated, and there is a statement of civil and political right
How well does Content
Enhancement really work?
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Each routine was studied in diverse,
secondary, content-area classrooms
Teachers partnered with researchers to
develop the routines and devices
Teachers learned the routines and gains were
observed by teachers and students
Students gained an average of 10 to 20
percentage points on tests or tasks
Greatest gains were seen when teachers
consistently used routines over time
Why are we here?
“If it weren’t for students impeding our
progress in our race to the end of the term,
we could certainly be sure of covering the
material. The question, however, is not
whether we as teachers can get to the end
of the text or the end of the term, but
whether students are with us on that
journey.”
Pat Cross
Director of the Classroom Research Project
University of California, Berkeley
For more information on
Professional Development opportunities:
Dan Boudah, Ph.D.
East Carolina University
boudahd@ecu.edu
252.328.1782