Mentor materials
Sequencing content from foundational skills to more complex
Intended outcomes
The intended outcomes of this topic are for Early Career Teachers to:
Learn how to avoid overloading working memory by:
- Sequencing lessons so that pupils secure foundational knowledge before encountering more complex content
Activities
Reflecting on learning (5 minutes)
Ask the ECT whether they used any of the activities you explored in the last topic for pupils to share emerging understanding.
- What did they notice?
- What went well?
- What will they do differently next time?
Why do we need to sequence content to help pupils learn? (10 minutes)
Explain to the ECT that the purpose of this topic is to think about how they sequence knowledge and content in a lesson or over a series of lessons to ensure that pupils secure foundational knowledge before encountering more complex content.
Pose the question: Why do we need to sequence content so that pupils secure foundational knowledge before encountering more complex content?
Mentor notes:
- Link back to what has already been discussed in previous mentor topics about cognitive load and the importance of pupils having secure background knowledge for new learning.
- All new learning is linked to prior learning (which is stored in schemas). The more secure this prior knowledge, the better able pupils will be to make connections and consider more complex ideas.
- Secure prior knowledge frees up working memory so pupils can think about more complex ideas.
- There is a danger that pupils will develop misconceptions about complex ideas if they have insecure prior knowledge.
Understanding foundational vs complex content (35 minutes)
Share the following definitions with the ECT:
- Foundational knowledge creates the building blocks of the topic. Without a secure understanding of these ideas, knowledge or concepts pupils will struggle to make connections (e.g. the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and its consequences is a foundational piece of knowledge for history students learning about the Second World War).
- Complex content is that which consists of many different and connected parts, building on the foundational knowledge. (e.g. the rise of the Nazi party in Germany is complex because it draws on lots of foundational knowledge, such as the impact of the Treaty of Versailles).
Ask the ECT to share a topic that they will be teaching soon over either one or a series of lessons.
Use Handout 2.4 to map the content for the topic into the brick wall. Work from either the bottom up, adding foundational knowledge that pupils need to secure first before they are able to engage with the complex content at the top of the wall; or from the top down, starting with the final learning outcome, which would demonstrate understanding of the topic, and working back down through the layers of supporting knowledge.
Mentor notes:
- If the mentor is not an expert in this phase or subject, it might be helpful to have another colleague join for this part of the topic to help identify what is foundational and what is complex.
Planning for action
Now that the ECT has mapped the content from foundational to complex, go through each box and number them in order of the sequence they will introduce them.
Remember, this should be from foundational to complex and might span one lesson or several.
Agree with the ECT what their next steps are:
- Planning the lessons with the content in the order agreed
- When will they do this by?
In the next topic you will be looking at breaking complex ideas into smaller steps. Ask the ECT to bring an example of a complex idea which they will be teaching soon. This could be the concept at the top of their brick wall from today’s topic but might be something completely different. It could be a task which involves multiple, complex steps.
Teaching complex ideas: breaking into smaller steps, reducing distractions
Intended outcomes
The intended outcomes of this topic are for Early Career Teachers to:
Learn that:
- Breaking complex material into smaller steps (e.g. using partially completed examples to focus pupils on the specific steps)
- Reducing distractions that take attention away from what is being taught (e.g. keeping the complexity of a task to a minimum, so that attention is focused on the content)
Activities
Reflecting on learning (5 minutes)
The mentor should ask the ECT whether they have started teaching the topic that they planned together in the last topic.
- What did they notice?
- What worked well?
- Would they use this approach again?
Key idea of the topic (10 minutes)
Give the ECT the following instruction: Draw a dog.
Now show them Handout 2.5 and use the step by step instructions to do it again.
Pose the question: How much easier did you find the task with step by step instructions?
Note, the ECT’s artistic ability will be a factor here! If they are already very confident drawing, ask them to imagine they were not a very confident artist!
Pose the question: How does breaking complex material into smaller steps help pupils learn?
Notes for mentor:
- Remember that our working memory capacity is limited.
- When it becomes overloaded, for example by too many pieces of information, we are unable to learn.
- Smaller steps allow pupils to experience success and it is important for pupils to experience success with complex material, otherwise they might just give up in the future.
Breaking complex material into smaller steps (20 minutes)
Ask the ECT to think about some complex material that they know they will need to ask pupils to complete soon. This might be understanding a complex concept or a task that involves multiple, complex parts. For younger pupils it could be a routine or set of instructions that they need to follow.
Pose the question: What do you want pupils to do/learn?
Notes for mentor:
- Remember that our working memory capacity is limited.
- When it becomes overloaded, for example by too many pieces of information, we are unable to learn.
- Smaller steps allow pupils to experience success and it is important for pupils to experience success with complex material, otherwise they might just give up in the future.
Planning for action
Pose the question: How has today’s topic made you think differently about the activities you do in your classroom?
Ask the ECT to confirm their next steps based on the mentor topics.