Module 4 – Instructional Techniques
Learning Modalities
Pacing and Practice
Have you ever crammed for an exam? How much could you learn in a short period of time? And how long were you able to hang on to that knowledge? This discussion of pacing and practice in instruction examines how much content or how many skills a student can absorb in a period of time. It is also an opportunity to examine how well those skills are mastered (retention) and how well they can be applied (fluency) to a variety of situations (generalization). Some adult learners may have difficulty retaining learning from one session to the next; they may be able to perform a skill, but only slowly and with a lot of prompting, or they may be unable to apply a skill in new ways or situations. One way to address these issues is to adjust the pace of instruction.
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“Anita could not handle long assignments. Again, we tried different strategies to see if they helped. She did much better when given one social studies unit at a time. We also decided I would enlarge math assignments and cut them apart into half-page sizes.” |
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“My tutors have helped me succeed and move faster. If I didn’t know something, they would teach me how to break it into pieces to make it easier.” |
Take a moment to consider the implications that pacing may have for instruction for adult literacy learners.
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On your worksheet, record your initial thoughts about the pacing of instruction. |
Adult learners may be in a rush to learn and reach their end goals quickly. Adult educators should talk with learners about the pacing of teaching and learning. Focus on which skills students should study and help them plan for sufficient practice to build understanding and eventually fluency. Learners' pacing needs may vary by skill or content being learned over time. Learners and instructors may find a need to slow down for certain topics – taking things much slower than expected. In other cases, they may find the learner knows the information cold while in the classroom using workbooks, but cannot seem to apply the new skill in the grocery store. Again, plans for study may need to be adjusted. Classroom learning may need to be more contextualized, or specific practice outside of class may need to be incorporated.
Listed below is a real-life adult education scenario. While you are reading, consider the needs and feelings of the adult learner. What are the instructor’s concerns? How might she adjust instruction for this learner?
Real-Life Scenario -- Laura’s Fast Pace:
Over the weekend, Laura had completed almost 20 pages in her math workbook – almost all the material on computing and estimating with decimals. She was so proud. Although her answers were mostly correct, her teacher, Chavi, was concerned, however, that she had covered too much material too fast. He suggested she review decimals with some “mixed practice” word problems. Laura started off well, but then got bogged down and made many mistakes. Together Laura and Chavi decided she needed more practice and application over an extended time period to ensure mastery of the skills.
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On your worksheet, record your thoughts on the feelings and needs of the learner, as well as the concerns of the instructor. |
Click the + sign in the box to the right to see ideas from other Adult Education Instructors. | [?] |
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It is important to build in regular reviews of learning. Students may say, “Oh, we’ve already learned that – why do we have to do it again?” but such practice reviews are important to long-term retention. A good way to do this is to plan a project or tasks that incorporate both old and new learning. Then students have a chance to see how lessons relate, connecting skills together and addressing possible confusion.
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My students make specific weekly learning plans. I’ve been pleased at how much practice they want. Once a skill seems to have been mastered in class, a lot of the “homework” time is spent practicing and reviewing the skills. It reinforces their success outside of class, and reduces the frustration of trying to learn new things at home without support.
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My students learn math concepts much better when they are in context of a real life situation. For example, dividing and multiplying fractions can be taught in relation to recipes and learning about decimals is easier in the context of money.
In reviewing these ideas, did you find any similar to your own? Did any of them strike you as particularly interesting? Did they provide any new insights for your instruction of adult literacy learners?
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On your worksheet, make note of any tips, insights, or new ideas gained from the instructors’ suggestions. |
In Summary:
- To reach mastery, skills and knowledge must be not only understood but maintained over time and applied easily in a variety of situations.
- One way to increase mastery is to modify the pace of instruction as necessary, building in routine and repeated practice in a variety of settings and situations.
- Adult literacy instructors and students should be careful not to race through material – or consider a high score on an end of chapter quiz to mean mastery.
- Previously learned material should be incorporated into current lessons, and sufficient practice planned for long-term retention of skills.
- Students should be encouraged to practice new skills outside of class, in real-world situations.
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On your worksheet, record any final notes or thoughts, specific ideas you want to remember, plans for further study, etc. |
Click "Next" below or a specific topic on the outline to the left to continue.
Bellon, Jerry; Bellon, Elner, & Blank, Mary Ann, Teaching from a Research Knowledge Base (1992), New York: McMillan. [Specifically pp. 205 – 209, 220-222 regarding pacing and student success]