Deep Practice
What is it?
Why do we need it?
How do we create it?
Deep Practice
 Short intense practice on one to five questions.
 Questions are rigorous and make the learner
stretch.
 Always includes deconstruction; it is a minimal
amount of time solving the problem with the
REAL learning in deconstructing it.
 Occurs on a daily basis and starts at the
beginning of the school year.
Why do we need it?
Test scores show our students perform
poorly on dual-coded questions.
Dual coded questions are questions
that require the student to engage in
more than one cognitive process.
Let’s look at an example.
TEK 5.5A
• 83% Statewide
• 83% District
• NO PROCESS
STANDARD
A Dual Coded Question – Same TEK
 52% Statewide
 57% District
DUAL CODED WITH:
5.2D Analyze and
interpret information
to construct
reasonable
explanations from
direct and indirect
evidence.
1. Students score 20% to 45%
lower on questions that require
more than one cognitive process.
2. We need DEEP PRACTICE on dual
coded questions to get good at
them.
3. They make-up 40% to 90% of all
test questions on an exam,
depending on the test taken.
Conclusion:
Until we have explicit
practice on dual coded
questions…
our students won’t do better
on STAAR or EOCs.
The Paradox
 Operating on the edge of your ability, where you make
mistakes, makes you smarter.
 Experiences where you’re forced to slow down, make
errors, and correct them, make you strengthen your
critical thinking skills.
PART II: HOW TO WRITE A
DUAL CODED QUESTION
WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS?
A dual coded question has:
1. A process skill from the content area
TEKS
2. A readiness or supporting skill from
the content area TEKS
That sounds really hard!
Not really.
question…
Take this
Which of the following does not produce
electricity?
a. Fossil fuels
b. Solar energy
c. Geothermal energy
d. Carbon dioxide energy
What cognitive process do you have to
apply?
ONLY ONE!
RECALL OF INFORMATION
WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT?
1. It’s not real life. Solving problems in the real
world always requires several cognitive
steps.
2. Recalling information does not prepare
students for the real world, or even for
assessments like STAAR , EOC, PSAT, SAT,
LSAT, MCAT, etc., etc.
3. These assessments are also the gateway
into almost all professions and trades.
HOW DO YOU CHANGE IT?
First, choose a process skill from your TEKS in
science that you want to help students practice
on.
5.2D Analyze and interpret information to
construct reasonable explanations from direct
and indirect evidence.
Now let’s look at that question again,
and add something to analyze.
Here is a figure of a
power plant,
something that
produces electricity.
Now let’s ask the students to analyze and
interpret the diagram.
This power plant produces
electricity most likely by
using –
F. Fossil fuels
G. Biofuels
H. Solar energy
J. Geothermal energy
Here’s the differenceQuestion 1:
Recall information.
Question 2:
Study the diagram.
Analyze its
components.
Interpret what it
means.
Read the question and
answers.
Determine which
answer is correct based
on the information
given.
NOW YOU PRACTICE – First Step
1. Choose one of your tests that you’ve given in the
past.
2. Read each question and code it to the TEKS.
3. Write a “1” beside it if it requires one thinking step
to solve.
4. Write a “D” beside it if it requires more than one
cognitive process to solve.
5. Reading the problem and answers does not count
as a cognitive process. 
Second Step
 Get the process skill TEKS for your grade level
and content area out.
 Highlight all of the cognitive verbs, such as,
analyze, infer, interpret, categorize, etc.
 Select a verb or two from the process skills
that your students need work on.
Next…
 Choose one of the simple problems on your
test.
 Add a diagram, picture, chart, or more
information to the question to give more
visual information to process.
 Rewrite your question and/or answer choices
to cause students to exercise the cognitive
verb(s) you selected for them to practice.
The more you do this,
the easier it gets!
PART III
DEEP PRACTICE AND
DECONSTRUCTION
WHAT???
THERE’S
MORE???
DEEP PRACTICE IS SIMPLY:
1. GIVING STUDENTS AT LEAST ONE DUALCODED QUESTION EVERY DAY AT THE
BEGINNING OF CLASS.
2. IT SHOULD BE ON CURRENT OR
SPIRALLING CONTENT.
3. IT SHOULD STRETCH THEIR THINKING – IT
SHOULD NOT BE EASY.
ALWAYS
DECONSTRUCT THE
QUESTION AFTER IT IS
ANSWERED.
DECONSTRUCTION
Asking students to think through
how they got an answer and to
discuss it out loud.
Rules are simple:
Everyone participates.
Everyone respects the speaker.
It can be large group or small group, even in pairs.
Process
1.
Ask students to circle or underline the words, numbers, or
the objects, (if using a diagram), that helped them to get
the correct answer.
2.
Have them do a “turn and talk”, small group share, or shout
out.
3.
Ask students to put an X on the incorrect answer choices.
4.
Have students describe what made each answer incorrect.
Annotate these by underlining words, making symbols by
clues, etc.
5.
Ask student to describe what information made them
select the answer they have.
6.
Make sure students debate, explain, and engage!
Different variables will
cause the process to vary.
type of problem
Deconstructing the question
helps to:
reinforce mental steps in
solving difficult problems,
model for students having
difficulty,
improves everyone’s ability
to get dual-coded questions
correct.
Let’s look at that question about
electricity again.
Which of the following does not produce
electricity?
a. Fossil fuels
b. Solar energy
c. Geothermal energy
You can’t help kids
d. Carbon dioxide energy
get smarter by
practicing on
questions like this.
How do students think
smarter and achieve more?
 By having target practice on dual-coded
questions - not just any questions, but
challenging dual-coded questions.
 By practicing them everyday in short
bursts.
 By deconstructing them to learn how to
think.
Practice doesn’t make
perfect.
Practice makes permanent.
Solve and deconstruct dualcoded questions every day.