GMAX 12 Week Curriculum Road Map
Hunter Model: Teaching Style
Getting students set to learn – The first two elements are interchangeable. As stated earlier a distinctive review is optional. However, typically at the beginning of the lesson, the teacher may briefly review previous material if it is related to the current lesson.
1) Stated Objectives – Letting students know where they are going. Giving them a sense of where they have headed belays the feeling of being a hostage in a learning experience. This step gives students direction and lets’s know what they are supposed to accomplish by the end of the lesson.
2) Anticipatory Set – Getting students ready and/or excited to accept instruction. (Please note that giving directions may be part of the procedural dialog of a lesson, but in and of themselves directions are NOT an Anticipatory Set !!!!! The keyword here is “anticipatory” and that means doing something that creates a sense of anticipation and expectancy in the students — an activity, a game, a focused discussion, viewing a film or video clip, a field trip, or reflective exercise, etc.). This step prepares the learner to receive instruction much like operant conditioning.
Direct instruction and checking for understanding – This part involves quickly assessing whether students understand what has just been demonstrated or presented.
3) Input Modeling/Modeled Practice – Making sure students get it right the first time depends on the knowledge, or processes to be shown or demonstrated by an expert, or by someone who has mastered what is to be demonstrated or shown. In addition to the instructor, prepared students can certainly model the focused skill, process, or concept for peers. Instructors could also use a video for this portion.
4) Checking Understanding – Teachers watch students’ body language, ask questions, observe responses and interactions in order to determine whether or not students are making sense of the material as it is being presented. This portion takes place as instruction is being given. This is a whole class exercise, one in which the instructor carefully monitors the actions of the learners to make sure they are duplicating the skill, process, procedure, or exercise correctly.
5) Guided Practice – Takes place after instruction has been modeled and then checked for understanding to make sure students have it right! The question here is can they replicate what you want them to do correctly? Students are given the opportunity to apply or practice what they have just learned and received immediate feedback at individual levels.
Independent practice – These last two components can be interchanged.
6) Independent Practice – After students appear to understand the new material they are given the opportunity to further apply or practice using the new information. This may occur in class or as homework, but there should be a short period of time between instruction and practice and between practice and feedback. Essentially they are doing a learning task by themselves.
7) Closure – Bringing it all to a close – one more time. What did they accomplish? What did they learn? Go over it again. As you can see this model is highly repetitive — it is really a drill model and as I indicated earlier not conducive to support a number of high-level thinking or feeling functions without some serious alteration or modifications.