Play 11
Guided practice - I do, we do, you do
What is it?
Guided practice occurs in the modelling phase of a lesson: this is where students get a sense of what it feels like to do the task successfully, working towards the moment of independence. This phase comprises of 3 steps: ‘I do’, where the teacher models the step, ‘we do’, where the teacher and the students do the step collaboratively and ‘you do’, where the students complete the step independently, before moving onto the independent work. This phase requires thorough intellectual preparation; addressing high frequency errors directly and consistently checking for understanding. By the end of this section, the teacher should have the confidence in their students’ ability to successfully complete the planned independent task.
Why is it important?
Watching a teacher perform a task doesn’t necessarily mean a student can do it, even if they have seen exactly what the teacher has done and heard them explain it really clearly. There’s just too much to take in and process.
What is needed is a much more extended handover where the teacher works with the students to do the task together. We often do not allow enough time for this crucial part of a lesson due to spending too long in the exposition of a lesson or being too concerned with moving on in the lesson. This can be combated with careful intellectual preparation of this section.
What to do:
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Intellectually prepare (IP) Reduce your cognitive load when modelling by preparing beforehand the steps you will take to demonstrate. You should also prepare questions you will ask at key points to check for understanding as well as the method of checking, eg. MWB. Plan ahead for common misconceptions you will highlight so as to avoid them altogether. |
I do Enforce SLANT: all eyes should be on you as you model. Narrate your thinking as you show each step - it will encourage those important metacognitive skills. Explicitly highlight misconceptions as you model. Use your IP to check for understanding after each step. This will free up your working memory during this task. |
We do Enforce SLANT: all eyes should be on you as you model. Scaffold a second example for students to attempt with your guidance. Allow students to practise the steps you modelled in the ‘I do section’. This should be the success criteria for the students to follow. Pitch this appropriately. CFU in order to move onto the independent part of this phase. |
You do Enforce SLANT: all eyes should be on you. Present a similar task, pitched appropriately and actively monitor for HFEs. Stop and re-teach if there are common errors being made. The ‘you do’ task should be a checking for understanding task: have they understood what you modelled? Are you confident that they can move onto the SLOP section of the lesson? |
The ‘we do, you do’ loop If you ascertain they have not all understood what you modelled, loop back to the ‘we do’ phase and remodel and reteach. If you are confident they have grasped the concept at this point, they are ready to move on to Shed Loads of Practice. |
