The Master Teacher Blog

Every profession has established practices, procedures, techniques, and aspects of vocabulary that are unique to their field. These elements serve as shortcuts to deciding the best course of action and performing key tasks and processes, and they help to define a profession and ensure high levels of performance.

Every profession also requires tailored actions or techniques for specific situations, and education is no different. Although in the education profession, guidance regarding when to employ which techniques is not always clear, and the language used to describe techniques is not always consistent.

Consider, for example, the most common and heavily relied-upon approach to teaching: direct instruction. Direct instruction provides a structure to expose students to new content, provide direction for learning, and intervene when students struggle or get stuck. While direct instruction is not always the best choice for nurturing learning, it can play a crucial role in imparting new content and introducing new skills. Despite direct instruction featuring multiple techniques and applications, we typically do not break the practice down into its crucial subcomponents, nor do we name and describe them consistently.

If we hope to gain and maintain the respect our profession deserves and explain our practice in ways that provide guidance and support improvement in practice, we need to become more precise. Consider how the following four components of direct instruction might be helpful to your practice and useful in your communication with colleagues and others. Note that each instructional situation calls for its own unique instructional response, and not all the following pieces of lesson delivery can be planned for ahead of time!

Nano Instruction

What it is: Bite-sized; responsive; ultra-focused on a single element; connected to current context; addresses an immediate need

When to apply it: When students are struggling or stuck and need specific information or guidance to move forward

Duration: Typically lasting a few seconds to a minute or two

Examples:

• Reminding a student of a spelling rule or grammar convention
• Suggesting a useful resource
• Explaining the next step in a problem-solving activity
• Clarifying an instruction or reinforcing an expectation

Micro Instruction

What it is: Narrowly focused content; addresses a few elements; includes limited content

When to apply it: When students are ready for the next step in a cycle of learning, intended for immediate reflection and application

Duration: Typically extends for no more than 5-15 minutes

Examples:

• Reteaching past content
• Introducing a specific process or protocol
• Explaining and demonstrating a concept or skill
• Correcting or clarifying in response to confusion or a misconception

Meso Instruction

What it is: Instruction focused on a set of competencies or skills; may be comprised of a series of micro-teaching modules or organized into a unit of study

When to apply it: When you need to connect past learning to current and future learning; provide broader, deeper exposure to new content; and complete a cycle of learning and teaching

Duration: May be delivered in 10–30-minute segments spread over multiple days, a week, or longer

Examples:

• Reviewing past learning
• Delivering daily lessons
• Preparing for independent practice
• Reviewing in advance of an assessment on a unit of study

Macro Instruction

What it is: Big-picture approach to what students are learning; provides context and showing connections between content and purpose; offers a wide view of a subject or discipline; may encompass an extensive array of elements; connected to larger context

When to apply it: When introducing a new course of study; helping students to see the role, value, and usefulness of what they are learning; previewing competencies and skills to be developed; and closing out major learning efforts to solidify and reinforce retention of what has been learned

Duration: Less likely to be quantified, as content may address a major unit of study, cover the content to be examined and learned throughout the course, or so on

Examples:

• Introducing an extended learning effort such as a major unit, course, or complex learning challenge
• Activating prior knowledge
• Building connections during a learning sequence to help students link what they are learning to a larger context, significant purpose, or application
• Preparing for a major assessment
• Reviewing content at the end of a course

Where else in educational practices do you see opportunities to become more specific and consistent in the application of techniques and processes as well as in the language we use to describe them?

One of the most persistent challenges we face is convincing students to focus less on grades and more on learning. Unfortunately, unless we are careful, grades can get in the way of learning rather than support it. Multiple research studies have shown that when students are presented with a grade followed by feedback, they give their attention to the grade and often ignore the feedback. Yet, learning growth is far more likely to result from heeding and using feedback than from information communicated by a grade.

It is not that grades are not important or do not have a role to play. Well-constructed and anchored grades can give parents and caregivers a general view of how their child is doing. They can serve as a broad indicator of how well a student has performed in a subject area or discipline. They can even be reasonable reflections of how well students manage self-discipline, persist with challenges, and maintain effort toward important goals over time.

We also need to recognize that grades do not produce the results that many educators assume. Grades are not particularly strong or sustaining motivators of learning. In fact, grades are the leading source of school-related stress, especially for older students. Grades often tempt students to prioritize tasks and challenges according to what “will count,” not what will best support their learning. Additionally, grades can promote a focus on assessment performance over learning. They can leave students vulnerable to a “learn, test, forget” mindset. Finally, grades typically communicate how well a student performed, not how much they learned.

Meanwhile, excessive feedback may not be the answer either. Despite the effort we might give to developing and sharing detailed feedback on every aspect of every piece of work students complete, too much feedback can quickly overwhelm students and leave them ignoring the valuable insights and guidance we offer. Feedback that students are most likely to use is targeted to the intended learning, specific, timely, and actionable. It is digestible and useful for the next steps in learning.

So, where might we turn if we want students to rely less on grades to tell them how they are doing and provide them with the guidance and support they need to keep learning? We might consider options such as:

• Frequent low-stake quizzes and other non-graded practice activities. Removing the pressure of a grade can encourage students to focus on what they are learning.
• Rubrics that support student self-assessment. Providing students with
  anchors to assess areas of strength and opportunities for growth and improvement can promote ownership for learning
• Student goal setting and progress monitoring. When students set goals and monitor their progress, learning often accelerates, motivation grows, and confidence develops.
• Reflection and journaling. Students can reflect on their struggles and triumphs and gain more awareness of their progress
• Peer-to-peer feedback. When students provide feedback to their peers, their peers can be more open to heeding and using it. Additionally, students tend to improve their own work when they offer constructive feedback to others.
• Timely, targeted teacher feedback. Our feedback, when not attached to a grade, can feel less threatening and critical. In fact, our feedback can feel more like coaching than judging.

Of course, the reality of grades and grading remains for most of us. What are some practices that prioritize learning in a world that still expects grades? Here are five places to start:

• Delay assigning grades as long as practical. The more we can delay assigning grades, the more learning growth we are likely to capture. When students are given a grade, they typically assume that the learning involved is complete and reduce their attention and effort.
• Create space between providing feedback and giving grades. Giving students time to reflect on feedback before receiving a grade helps to prevent grades from hindering learning.
• Confine grade-associated feedback to learning targets. Additional and extraneous feedback can add to the distraction and leave students even more likely to ignore everything but the grade.
• Consider sharing “temporary” or “practice” grades that can be improved by heeding the feedback we provide. For students who are focused on grades, the opportunity and guidance for how to improve can focus their attention and learning efforts.
• Utilize a variety of data sources to develop grades. Portfolios, one-on-one conferences, demonstrations, presentations, and other performance opportunities can provide a wider range of opportunities for feedback and more ways for students to learn.

Shifting students’ focus away from the primacy of grades and toward learning can, obviously, lead to more learning. It can also reduce the amount of time we spend collecting data, calculating scores, and creating grades.

Reference:

Kuepper-Tetzel, C., & Gardner, P. (2021). Effects of temporary mark withholding on academic performance. Psychology Learning & Teaching, (20)3, 405-419. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725721999958

The most important and urgent challenge educators face today is to prepare today’s students for the future. To help them succeed in life and in their future careers, we teach our students basic and universal academic skills, nurture social skills, coach resilience, promote mental and physical health, and encourage other habits and competencies we know will be important to their future. However, we may not be spending enough time considering some higher-order skills that we can predict will become increasingly important in the world where today’s students will live and work.

A recent report from the World Economic Forum provides a strong reminder of the importance of thinking skills as our students prepare to enter life beyond formal education. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 is based on data from more than 1000 employers worldwide, across 20 industries and 55 global cultures.

While much of the report presents predictions for job growth, changes, and losses in the remainder of this decade, it also identifies three types of thinking skills that employers globally believe will be crucial for career success and that they will seek in the workers they hire: critical thinking, creative thinking, and analytical thinking. Let’s explore these crucial skills, the role they are likely to play in a world infused with artificial intelligence, and how we can teach and nurture these skills in our students.

Critical thinking: Critical thinking describes the ability to recognize and question assumptions, interpret information, discern biases, synthesize information, evaluate options, reflect, and make good decisions. The value of critical thinking has long been recognized, but it takes on new importance in the context of AI. More information will be available in the coming years than in all recorded history. Our students will be challenged to understand the implications, assess the value, and harness available information to accomplish worthy purposes and goals. In a world of AI, workers need to be able to assess what is important, what fits, what makes sense, and what will be useful in a specific context.

We can teach and nurture critical thinking by:

• Asking important, open-ended questions that encourage deeper thinking and by having students wrestle with “why,” “how,” and “what if” questions.
• Engaging students in analysis of case studies, scenarios, and simulations to sharpen their thinking, predict outcomes, and defend their reasoning.
• Giving students opportunities to experience problem-based learning in which they collect and evaluate information, collaborate with others, and discover and assess potential solutions.
• Encouraging students to reflect on and make sense of their learning and life experiences through activities such as discussions, journaling, and reflection prompts.
• Participating in debate around important, complex, and even controversial subjects, including consideration of other’s points of view and defending their positions with logic, reason, and facts.

Creative thinking: Creative thinking is generally defined as the capacity to think flexibly, generate new ideas, identify new approaches to solving problems, imagine new possibilities, take responsible risks, and develop novel insights. While AI possesses growing capabilities, there will remain a role and need for human prompts, technology collaboration, insight and foresight to frame challenges, and the ability to bring fresh ideas and rich imagination to bear on the challenges and opportunities the world will present.

We can teach and nurture creative thinking by:

• Encouraging students to engage in the arts and employ drawing, drama, storytelling, movement, and music to express ideas and demonstrate learning.
• Challenging students to develop multiple approaches and develop multiple answers to tasks and problems.
• Providing students with open-ended challenges that allow them to generate ideas, structure approaches, and create solutions.
• Celebrating mistakes and missteps as valuable opportunities to learn.
• Exposing students to wide-ranging perspectives, cultures, histories, styles, and ways of thinking.

Analytical thinking: Engaging in analytical thinking involves the ability to uncover patterns, recognize relationships, evaluate data, draw conclusions, and employ structured approaches to solving problems and making decisions. While AI can be a powerful tool to provide and support analyses, humans still play a role in discerning appropriateness, deciding application, determining utility, and monitoring the accuracy of AI processes. Understanding information and data presented to AI will be crucial to making decisions that take advantage of what AI presents.

We can teach and nurture analytical thinking by:

• Nurturing logical reasoning strategies through puzzles, riddles, problem-solving, and mathematical proofs.
• Developing student competence in varied forms of structured problem solving such as the scientific method, SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, Venn diagrams, and decision trees.
• Teaching students to employ and interpret varied forms for organizing and presenting data such as graphs, charts, heat maps, and infographics.
• Coaching students to identify potential bias and faulty assumptions through analysis of news reporting, advertisements, opinion writing, and political propaganda.
• Engaging students in inquiry-based learning to investigate phenomena, solve problems, and uncover answers by framing questions, gathering evidence, making reasoned conclusions, and providing evidence and reason-based defenses.

We might think that such high-level thinking skill are only important for students who will engage in work roles that require extensive education and technical skills. However, the world for which we are preparing today’s students will demand of its workers the ability to think critically, creatively, and analytically in any role— and reward them for it.

Education is filled with informal knowledge, practices passed from generation to generation, and long-standing traditions. Some of what these sources have to offer is solid and worth heeding. Unfortunately, history and traditions also include much that does not stand up to serious study and practical experience.

We must be alert to what works and can be relied on and what does not measure up. We need to examine the advice we are given, and test traditions passed along to us. We do well to verify the worthiness of what we hear in the context of our work with students. Here are six common assumptions and frequent practices that are worth our reflection and are likely candidates for revision.

Perception #1: Compliant students are the best learners. Students who sit quietly, listen, and follow instructions can feel easy to teach. Yet, they may not be learning the most in our class. Learning that is deep and retained requires engagement, examination, and reflection. Often, the student who is asking questions, jumping ahead of our instructions, and even veering off-topic may be learning as much as—or more than—a student who seems to be diligently following along. They may test our patience and frustrate our plans, sure, but these students may also be making mental connections with what they already know, asking questions to explore implications, and discovering new insights that give them ownership for what they are learning and deepen their understanding.

Perception #2: Memorization is effective learning. Memorization can give students efficient access to static facts, sequences, and processes, but overreliance on memorization can distract from deep understanding. Memorization can sacrifice flexibility and reduce critical thinking when circumstances change and adjustments and innovation are required. Memorization can build “muscle memory,” but it can also narrow options considered and result in assumptions that do not match current reality. Certainly, there is a role for memorization to facilitate efficiency in stable, predictable circumstances, but we need to guard against having students rely on memorization when judgment is what is needed.

Perception #3: Fast learning is good learning. Students who seem to be able to learn quickly are typically viewed as good learners. We may even call them “fast learners” as a complimentary description. However, students for whom learning comes easily also frequently discover that they forget just as quickly. These students may have good short-term memories, but learning that lasts must be stored in long-term memory. The conversion from short- to long-term memory requires sifting and sorting information, and it is often accompanied by reflection, even struggle. The effort and emotion associated with sense making, connecting, and organizing information for storage in long-term memory enables learners to access learning for a longer time. In fact, students who struggle and may take longer to learn sometimes have advantages in learning retention over students for whom learning is easy and fast.

Perception #4: More time equals more learning. We may think that by expanding the length of our lessons, assigning more homework, and requiring more time spent completing assigned tasks and projects, we will increase the amount our students learn. Yet, learning is not driven primarily by how much time is spent on a task or topic; rather, learning is driven far more by quality engagement, clear purpose and utility, and confidence in ultimate success. Instead of asking how much time and effort a lesson requires, we do better to consider how to help students see purpose and utility in what we ask them to learn, find ways to tap natural interest and curiosity, and build key skills to make learning more efficient, meaningful, and satisfying.

Perception #5: Testing is a good way to increase learning recall. It may seem logical that having students study for tests will reinforce their learning and increase their recall of past learning. However, when tests are designed primarily to evaluate student recall, once the test is over, their brains typically let go of what has been learned. The purpose of learning has been served, so retention is no longer a priority. On the other hand, when assessments are designed to have students organize and make sense of what they have learned and demonstrate their competence through presentations, demonstrations, and other performance activities, their learning continues to grow, and their recall is typically greater and lasts longer.

Perception #6: Grades drive learning. Grades should reflect learning, not be the reason for it. Gaining knowledge, building skills, acquiring insight, and creating competence are far more important reasons for learning. Overemphasis on grades can distract from authentic engagement and undermine the benefits of developing learning-related skills. Focusing on grades risks confusing ends with means. If students believe grades are what matters most, it is understandable that they might look for shortcuts that do not require effort and that they may be tempted to copy the work of peers.

Perceptions and assumptions, if valid, can increase efficiency and shorten the path to desired outcomes. However, when they are not based in good practice and effective instruction, they can become distractions and impediments to achieving the success we want for our students. This discussion is a place to start. Are there other assumptions and practices you need to examine?

This is a time of the year when we may want to share wisdom, provide guidance, and offer advice our students can take with them as they leave us. We have shared many experiences together over the course of the semester or school year, and we have watched our students learn and mature (most of them, anyway, even if just a little bit). We have invested heavily in their learning, provided guidance as they wrestled with challenges, offered encouragement as they overcame barriers, and watched with pride as they navigated their yearlong learning path.

Now, as we prepare our students to leave us, we might send them off with advice about finding their way in what lies ahead, whether in school, work, or life. We have built strong relationships, established our credibility, and repeatedly demonstrated our caring. Consequently, what we have to offer is likely to be heard, take root, and be remembered when students recall their time with us.

As you contemplate your end-of-year message, here are some ideas to consider communicating to your students:

• Aim high. A fact of life is that you rarely achieve more than you expect. Timid people may aspire to achieve little, wanting to avoid disappointment. Bold people set their sights on audacious achievements, understanding that even falling short can mean exceptional success. Don’t worry about whether something is possible. The question is not whether you can, but whether you are willing to work for what you want.
• Stay curious. Curiosity is an underappreciated—but exceptionally powerful—force. Curious people notice things that others miss. Curious people ask questions when others merely assume. Over the course of a lifetime, curious people are more likely to achieve success than people who fail to question, imagine, and explore.
• Always learn. Learning has more to do with what you give your attention to than with what you are taught. Learning is an internal process that is informed by experience, instruction, reflection, and application. The truth is that there is virtually nothing you cannot learn. The only question is whether you are willing to focus, practice, and persist enough to gain the knowledge or master the skill you seek.
• Practice courage. Being courageous does not mean you are not afraid. Fear is a natural emotion when facing uncertainty, the unknown, or the possibility of negative consequences. Courage is finding the strength to do when is right and necessary despite the presence of fear. Courageous people can make a difference even when they are not completely successful. An act of courage can be enough to make a statement, draw attention, and shift circumstances to achieve a lasting impact.
• Set goals. Goals are powerful things. Their presence provides direction, helps to maintain focus, and mark progress. Goals remind us of what is important and help us to allocate our resources and align our efforts. People rarely achieve important outcomes without first having set a goal to do so.
• Small things matter. In life, it is often the small things that are done consistently that determine the difference between getting by and finding success. Rarely does significant success come from a single act or luck alone. Habits, preparation, and discipline are far better bets for success.
• Do one more thing. Always choose to do one more thing than is required or requested. Each small task or additional contribution may not seem like much, but over time the difference accumulates. Before long, people who were performing like you will fall behind. You will be amazed at the difference just one more thing, done consistently, can make in your success, regardless of what you are doing.

Of course, our students may not recall or choose to apply all these pieces of advice. However, they may remember and apply one, two, or three of the things we said that make sense to them and feel worth applying. If so, we will have made a difference; a difference that could last a lifetime.

One of the amazing aspects of teaching is that we engage with our students early in their life trajectories. Consequently, our influence can persist and grow after students leave us, mature, and enter new phases of life. What may seem like incidental exchanges, off-hand advice, small acts of caring, or assurance of understanding can have a lifelong impact. What may feel like a small win with students today may change how they view and live life long after they leave us.

Unfortunately, our role positions us in a place where we are usually not able to see and hear how our influence has made a difference for our students. If we are lucky, some students might return and tell us how we have had an impact on who they are and what they are doing, but these tend to be rare occasions, representing just a fraction of the differences we have made.

But how do we know if the experiences our students are having with us today are likely to be life-changing? Are there signs or signals that can reassure us that what we are doing will not only be important today, but will likely stay with students far beyond their time with us?

The good news is that when students look back at their time in school, they often point to certain experiences, observations, and messages that have stayed with them over time and have had an influence on who they have become. Here are seven reflections students share about teachers whom they describe as life-changing:

This teacher…

• Really saw me. Students value teachers who see them as more than just a student. Taking time to listen and understand how students are feeling and empathizing with their challenges and struggles matters. For students, being seen translates to feeling valued and significant.
• Thought I was exceptional. While it certainly can, exceptionality does not have to translate to academic achievement or perceived intelligence. Instead, the focus may be a certain talent, ways of thinking, or unique insights. For students, being considered exceptional can feel like permission to be who they are and not always have to conform to what others think or expect of them.
• Made me want to learn. When teachers allow their curiosity, passions, and excitement to show through their teaching, students can find it difficult to ignore or resist. Developing a love for learning can make a lifelong difference for students.
• Held high expectations. Students often underestimate their potential. When someone pushes them to invest, persist, and discover what they are capable of, it can become a habitual approach to life beyond the classroom.
• Never gave up. Nudging, reminding, and supporting students are expressions of confidence that success is possible. Letting go and moving on can send the opposite message. Students remember and treasure people who never gave up on them.
• Was flexible and creative. Unexpected things happen. When they do, the circumstance can be turned into a timely reminder or offered as something new to learn. Even negative events have a way of becoming an opportunity for something good. Finding value and worth, reframing, and reflecting can be powerful models for young people trying to understand life.
• Was someone I wanted to be like. Students are constantly looking for role models. They want to have adults in their lives who have clear values, integrity, and courage. When they find what they are looking for in us, we can be their “north star,” their beacon of hope, and a measuring stick for who they want to become. 

Obviously, we cannot be all these things all the time for all our students, but the beauty is that we do not have to exhibit all these characteristics. In fact, there are times when even one of these elements can be all a student needs in order to see more in themselves, aspire to be more than they are, and follow a path created and begun during their time with us.

It can be tempting to group student errors, mistakes, missteps, and setbacks together and treat them all in the same manner. It is true that they share some characteristics, but each of these experiences include unique elements.

Knowing which behavior-related experience is involved is crucial to deciding how to respond. Each has unique causes and calls for different types of action. There are risks in treating all four as the same; students can become confused, decide to shut down, and be reluctant to keep trying.

Consider these four types of behavior experiences and how they are unique:

• Errors: Errors point to opportunities for learning and teaching. They are typically caused by deficiencies in students’ knowledge, skill, or understanding. They reveal confusion, misunderstanding, or the need for more learning. If left unaddressed, errors can become calcified and resistant to later correction.
• Mistakes: Mistakes are typically due to carelessness, deciding or acting too quickly, inattention, overconfidence, or feeling pressure. Mistakes are the result of a lack of execution, not a lack of knowledge or understanding. Usually, students know better but fail to use the knowledge and skills they possess to inform and guide their actions.
• Missteps: Missteps usually occur when students neglect to give adequate attention to the context within which they are acting. They may be the result of a lack of judgment, inattentiveness, or failure to follow existing norms, procedures, or expectations.
• Setbacks: Setbacks are unique in that they typically result from some external cause and are beyond students’ control. Setbacks often create disappointment and frustration that can lead to giving up. Overcoming setbacks requires understanding of what caused the setback and adaptation to achieve future success.

Our support for students in response to each of these conditions must begin with an understanding of whether what we observe is an error, a mistake, a misstep, or a setback. Once we are clear about which experience is involved, we can tailor our feedback, encouragement, instruction, and coaching to achieve the best outcome. Let’s examine each of these experiences and how we might best match our response to what our students will likely need.

Errors

Need revealed: Learning

Tailored responses:

• Make it safe to try and not always succeed in the first attempt(s).
• Be careful not to overcorrect and risk doing more harm than good.
• Reteach with a different approach or adjusted explanation.
• Provide scaffolding support until the student can be independent.
• Provide additional practice to raise the student’s confidence.

Mistakes

Need revealed: Self-discipline

Tailored responses:

• Coach for acceptance and accountability.
• Encourage attentiveness and self-awareness.
• Teach self-monitoring techniques such as concentration and appropriate pacing.
• Share precision strategies such as double checking and process review.
• Teach metacognition strategies to help students be aware of their thinking.

Missteps

Need revealed: Awareness

Tailored responses:

• Coach reflection to understand causes and plan for accuracy.
• Reinforce the need for awareness of context.
• Encourage situational thinking such as what is best or acceptable in a situation.
• Highlight the need to consider the perspectives and needs of others.
• Teach the importance of noting and responding to norms and cues.

Setbacks

Need revealed: Insight

Tailored responses:

• Encourage analysis of situational elements such as obstacle, forces, and factors.
• Teach coping strategies.
• Coach adaptation strategies.
• Nurture persistence and resilience.
• Reinforce flexibility without losing goal focus.

When we take the time to understand students’ experiences and tailor our responses, they feel our personal commitment, experience higher levels of support, and grow in response to our efforts.

Most of us have had the experience of presenting information to students only to discover later that nothing seemed to “stick.” For whatever reason, students failed to recognize, absorb, or store the information we intended them to learn. Of course, there are many possible reasons for why students may fail to grasp what they are asked to learn. However, the most frequent cause, when you eliminate factors related to disengagement, is failure of the information to find its way into working memory.

Working, or short-term, memory is the entry point for learning. It is where the brain sifts and sorts what is important, what is not, and what should be learned and stored. Working memory is activated when students hear, observe, or experience something they see as having the need, potential, or worthiness to learn. It occupies the space between initial reception of information and moving it into long-term memory, the repository of concepts and skills we have learned. Long-term memory preserves what we deem to be important and want to be able to recall.

Access to short-term memory is an essential factor in the learning process. Unfortunately, there are several forces that can get in the way of students recognizing the significance and potential of something to be learned and then moving it to short-term memory. Among the most common barriers are:

• Stress. When students are feeling stressed, they often ignore what we deem important in favor of focusing on what is stressing them.
• Uncertainty. Not understanding what is expected or having a lack of connection to what they already know can lead students to not invest the attention necessary to access their short-term memory.
• Confusion. When students fail to understand elements such as structure, relationships, and sequence in what they are asked to learn, they often let the lack of understanding slide by and neglect to give the attention required to work through and learn.
•  Distractions and disengagement. Too much information too early, too many irrelevant details, or other disruptions and distractions while learning can tempt students to pay attention to elements and aspects of what they encounter that divert their attention from what we want them to learn.
•  Lack of confidence. What students believe about themselves can play a determinative role. If they believe they cannot learn something, too often they do not.

The good news is that there are steps we can take to counter these forces and factors and lead students to pay attention and activate their working memory. Here are eight techniques to consider:

• Identify value and purpose. Help students to see how what they are asked to learn can be valuable to them. Point out how what they are learning can make them more successful in school—and discuss practical applications that link to life outside school.
• Focus and simplify instruction. Limit the length of instruction, and confine information and processes to what is essential. Avoid tangents and examples that are not central to what students are learning.
• Group and chunk information. Break complex information into small, manageable groups. Give students time to process and apply the information. Check for understanding in multiple ways, both formal and informal, before introducing next steps or elements.
• Minimize cognitive load. Where possible, reduce levels of stress students may be experiencing. Check for and address areas of confusion. Aim for clarity and conciseness in processes and desired outcomes.
• Reduce distractions. Schedule instruction during uninterrupted time, as much as possible. Resist sharing unrelated information or making announcements in advance of instruction that students may find disruptive or disturbing. Avoid overdecorating walls and excessive displays that might be overstimulating to students.
• Discourage multi-tasking. Encourage students to give their full attention to what they are to learn and to focus on one thing at a time. Resist giving students multiple instructions or introducing multiple tasks simultaneously. Even the most organized and efficient of students can benefit from fewer steps in assignment directions.
• Incorporate activities. Design activities that encourage students to actively interact with the content to be learned. Initiate discussions and implement hands-on learning opportunities. Have students participate in simple but collaborative activities such as think-pair-share, or elevate discussions by having students participate in Four Corners, where they move to a corner of the room to show their level of agreement or disagreement with a statement.
• Use visual aids and organizers. Utilize charts, graphs, diagrams, pictures, and other supports to reinforce what students may be hearing. Flow charts, mind maps, and other visual supports can prevent confusion and add clarity to instruction and gain access to working memory.

Our time with students is precious and limited. We need to utilize every opportunity to help students get learning right the first time. By helping them to access their working memory, we open the door to learning processes that lead to the understanding, retention, and future access they will need to be successful.