TEACH TO THE OBJECTIVE (Teacher Behavior to Increase Learning / IQAR)
RATIONALE - Teaching to the objective. The most important critical attribute in TTO is congruence. All of
the information, questions, activities, and responses must all be congruent to the written objective. When the
teacher is doing most of the talking, then the teacher is doing most of the learning. Everything during the lesson
all wrapped back to.
Guided practice and monitoring: Monitor student learning through Questions, Activities, and Responses
when delivering Information to know if students are learning and congruent lesson objectives are being met.
Information – Congruent to content, developmentally appropriate– “present in simplest, clearest, and most
understandable form” – “telling is not learning.” “Model what you mean,” concrete examples. What
information will be taught / How will they learn it
Questions–Level of Bloom’s-specific, clear, congruent to objective, planned / plan in advance. How will
students process the information?
Activities – Engagement of all students, congruent to objective, clear, observable / not assessment or
homework / planned hinge question.
Teacher Responses – oral, written, are specific, congruent to objective, give feedback, direct / redirect
learning.
The 1970’s were a decade when teacher behaviors were the focus of much educational research. Certain teacher
behaviors were consistently related to learning gains in the classroom. Those behaviors were:
Selecting the Objective
Teaching to the Objective
Monitoring and Adjusting Instruction
Using the Principles of Learning
Carol Cummings, Ph.D, Teaching Makes a Difference 1986
Teaching is a process by which teachers consciously make decisions with the intention of optimizing student
learning. Why does it matter? A teacher must have a complete, clear, specific and congruent objective before
planning and teaching a lesson to the objective. If selecting objectives is the first step in teaching, the second
step is teaching to those objectives. Madeline Hunter Improving Instruction 1966
INFORMATION
Giving Information opens the door to learning. “Information constitutes the foundation for learning and
thinking. Without information we can’t think, make decisions, solve problems, or be creative. Once we have
adequate information, we can proceed to build concepts, develop generalizations, and do higher level thinking.”
Madeline Hunter Mastery Teaching 1982. The information you teach must be congruent with your Indicators.
Four C’s of Delivering Information for Learning
Clear facts and definitions “We need to present information in the simplest, clearest, and most
understandable form.”
Critical attributes “Effective examples or models highlight (and the teacher labels) the critical attribute(s)
that distinguish one thing from other similar things.”
Concrete examples and non-examples “Meaning is one of the most important propellants of learning. We
increase the meaning of material when we use examples from students’ past experience or prior learning.”
Complete modeling/simulation “If at all possible, we need to model what we mean by demonstrating a
process or showing a product that elicits from students, “I see what that means.”
Clear facts and definitions “We need to present information in the simplest, clearest, and
most understandable form.”
- TEACH content (academic) vocabulary
- Use as few words as possible! (In a right triangle a2 + b2 = c2)
- Use clear, specific, understandable nouns, verbs and adjectives--not “forms of a word”--to define or
“describe” a word or concept. (The Pythagorean Theorem is a geometry law that is stated as a
mathematical formula. . .NOT. . .The Pythagorean Theorem is a theorem that. . .)
- Look at prefixes, roots, and suffixes to explain the meaning of words. (theorem comes from Greek
theorein meaning “a view”)
- Use visuals (concept maps, TPR, pictures, etc.) to make concepts or ideas memorable. (Frayer Model
ideas like “fair, hero, democracy, etc.)
Critical attributes “Effective examples or models highlight (and the teacher labels) the
critical attribute(s) that distinguish one thing from other similar things.”
- are the qualities that make something uniquely what it is
- are always all present in every example of the concept or term being taught.
Concrete examples and non-examples “Meaning is one of the most important propellants of
learning. We increase the meaning of material when we use examples from students’ past
experience or prior learning.”
Research shows that approximately 80% of graduating seniors are CONCRETE thinkers.
“Often it isn’t possible for students to directly perceive many of the complex concepts and generalizations
we teach.” Madeline Hunter Mastery Teaching 1982
Good examples:
- fit the critical attributes that can be identified and labeled
- are free of distractors that detour learning through emotion
- are based on and connected to prior experience or learning
- use mnemonics when prior experience or learning don’t work
Introduce non-examples only after students have had several examples that have developed an
understanding of the concept. If you introduce non-examples too soon, mis-learning can occur.
Complete modeling/simulation “If at all possible, we need to model what we mean by
demonstrating a process or showing a product that elicits from students, “I see what that
means.”
The four-stage modeling process, “I” is the teacher and “you” is the student.
1.I’ll do it. You watch
2.I’ll do it. You help.
3.You do it. I’ll help.
4. You do it I’ll watch.
There are many ways to present information. Plan with a purpose. Ask, how will students get the information?
What must you do as a teacher to make the presentation strategy successful? There are many ways to acquire
information and there is no one best way.
- reading
- lecture
- classroom lab or field experiments (inquiry learning)
- problem solving activities
- research
- multi-media presentations
- simulations
- guided or graded discussion
Teachers must provide ALL students with:
necessary information - not “nice to know” information
congruent information - not “related” information
Good examples:
fit the critical attributes that can be identified and labeled
are free of distractors that detour learning through emotion
are based on and connected to prior experience or learning
use mnemonics when prior experience or learning don’t work
Introduce non-examples only after students have had several examples that have developed an
understanding of the concept. If you introduce non-examples too soon, mislearning can occur.
Use understandable details or events.
Use clear and specific language.
Use visuals to make facts memorable.
QUESTIONS
Madeline Hunter tells us that the quality of processing and practice matter. She says: Practice, ‘doing it again,’
does not make perfect. Witness the freeway drivers who ‘do it again’ every day but don’t improve. Practice
does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect! Madeline Hunter Mastery Teaching 1982.
Robert Marzano tells us that the amount of processing and practice matters. He says: A meta-analysis of
research shows students must practice 33 times with feedback in order to reach the 85% level of mastery with
new information! More practice steadily increases the level of mastery.
Benjamin Bloom tells us that WHO processes and practices matters. He says: In general, about 20% of the
variation in achievement of individuals is accounted for by their participation in the classroom learning process.
The amount of active participation in the learning is an excellent index of the quality of instruction. Bloom, Benjamin.
Human Characteristics & School Learning
Teachers need to ask questions so that students can process the information given.Student answers will reveal:
- what they know
- what they don’t know
- how they are linking background knowledge with newer concepts
- whether there are fundamental misconceptions that are getting in the way of understanding
QUESTIONS:
- must be congruent with the objective
- must be specific and clear
- must be worded to elicit observable answers from all students (i.e. active participation: i.e. choral, “signaled,”
or written) that are as much as possible free of “guessing” or “contamination”
- must be worded to prevent “yes or no” answers
- are PLANNED to match FORM and FUNCTION
FUNCTION
FORM
to identify misconceptions and determine accuracy of
factual knowledge
who. . .what. . .when. . .where. . .why. . .how. . .
to learn how the student uses existing knowledge to
understand new information
Why does water look blue in a lake but clear in a
glass?
Do good governments and bad governments have
anything in common?
to extend the length and complexity of an answer or to What else can you tell me about that?
get more details
Why did you choose that answer?
to determine the learner’s ability to problem solve
How would you set up this word problem?
How would you draw a picture of this word
problem?
to stimulate connections or imaginative thought
If you’d been his political advisor, what advice
would you have given to Napoleon at the Battle of
Waterloo?
Where do you see evidence of this concept in your
own world?
“Notice how the questions should be prepared in advance. That’s not to say that a perfect question won’t arise
from an interaction between the teacher and the student, but having questions ready ensures that the teacher is
prepared. it also ensures that we know why we’re asking a specific question and how we expect learners to
respond. Further. . .the questions should always reflect the content and level of thinking of the lesson. This
helps us keep on track and prevents us from. . . taking tangents that do not relate to the topic at hand.” Doug Fisher
and Nancy Frey Guided Instruction 2010
Formative Assessment Questions
Teachers also need to ask HINGE questions so that they can check for understanding and monitor and adjust:
- Diagnose what is being learned
- Diagnose what is not being learned
- Decide what to do about what is not being learned.
Formative Assessment: Critical Attributes of Hinge Questions
Dylan Wiliam “Characteristics of Quality Hinge Questions” Educational Testing Service August 27, 2007)
- A hinge question is based on the content piece of the daily objective that students must understand before you
move on in the lesson.
- A hinge question is congruent with the level of thinking stated in your objective.
- A hinge question is asked at critical times in the lesson. You may have more than one hinge question or the
same hinge question may be repeated.
- Every student MUST be able to respond to the hinge question quickly.
- The teacher must be able to quickly and effectively collect, interpret, and diagnose the responses from all
students before moving on.
Good activities:
NEVER DO:
- are congruent with the content, level of
- activities that are “fun” but are not connected
thinking and student behavior in the
to your learning indicators
objective
- “canned” activities (i.e. worksheets, black line
- are worded to expect response
masters, text book exercises) that you have not
- from all
students
item
analyzed for
congruence
“For
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- are well-organized
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The criteria for performance need to be made explicit so feedback
can beorspecific.
- are engaging
students
teaching will contribute to your knowledge
of what has been learned and what needs to be retaught. Madeline Hunter
- are varied
Mastery Teaching
- activities where factors like number of pages
- are clearly communicated
or appearance are the subject of feedback
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waiting.” Madeline Hunter Mastery Teaching 1982
ACTIVITIES
WHAT TEACHERS SAY MATTERS
The teacher responds to the efforts and questions of the student. This is
regardless of whether the student is right or wrong. Your response will
direct and redirect learning.
RESPONSES
Research shows that the most powerful single action a teacher can take to
enhance achievement is feedback. It can raise scores by 37 percentile points.
What teachers say “matters.”Teacher responses to the efforts
and questions of a learner--whether those efforts
When students efforts are correct, the teacher cites the specific information
are right or wrong or somewhere in between-- determine
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learning.
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Kind
Specificity
When the student gives wrong information the teacher dignifies the attempt
and shows how to correct or improve the efforts.
Amount
Specific teacher responses tell students what they are doing well, what needs
to be improved and why to do to improve it.
When student efforts are “right,” the teacher cites specific
information about which parts of the effort are
correct and gives specific feedback about how that sets or accelerates the
When student efforts are “wrong,” the teacher dignifies the attempt as much as possible and gives specific
information about how to correct or improve the efforts.
Specific - Specific teacher responses tell students:
what they are doing well
what needs to be improved
what to do to improve it
Feedback should be specific enough that the student
knows what to do next, but not so specific that you do the
work. Identifying errors or types of errors is a good idea,
but correcting every error doesn’t leave the student
anything to do. Brookhart, Susan M. Educational Leadership “Feedback that
Fits” December 2007/January 2008
e.g.You have listed all the significant details of the Civil War. Now you just need to organize them for meaning.
For example, you might write about them in chronological order (order of time) or in order of importance (most
important to least important). You can pick the organization you like.
Good, you’ve got red, blue, and green--all three of the primary colors--from the finger paint pots. Now you just
need to use them to make a picture of your favorite toy.
Things to remember about Teaching to the Objective.
1. Not all of these teacher actions--information, questions, activities and responses--will occur in every
day’s lesson because some objectives take more than one day to teach. However, the ones that are used
in a day’s lesson must be congruent with the objectives.
2. “Nice to know” information, irrelevant questions, incongruent activities, and nonspecific responses must
be the exception rather than the rule.” Madeline Hunter Instructional Improvement
3. When teacher behaviors are congruent with the objectives, research shows instruction can hardly help
but be facilitated! Madeline Hunter Instructional Improvement
4. Teaching to the Objective Impacts Learning!
a. Efficiency is increased. There is more learning time and improved time on task.
b. Student success is increased. The rate and degree of learning improve.
c. Inappropriate behavior is reduced. Student motivation increases.