Precision teaching: Evidence based approach to effective teaching and learning:
For those who might not be aware of precision teaching, here is the background. Precision teaching is a way to streamline your teaching practices to bring the desired results. The outcome is a result of specific objectives to be taught. The objectives should be observable and quantified. The observable behaviour of the learner includes ‘what’ the teacher plans to teach, ‘how’ and ‘when’ to teach. And quantification is to quantify the outcomes rather than going by a feeling factor and avoid statements like ‘I think this child is reading well!’ As a rationale teacher, I will quantify the child’s performance in timed activities like 5 correct responses on 5 what based questions. The instructor or facilitator needs to sit down and pen what they exactly want to teach the learners and plan the output in their head which is quantified!
I will be discussing the first step in this blog which is to create a SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE. I began with creating specific objectives for my students wherein I answered the following questions for myself: what will my learners do? Where will they perform the tasks, will they perform it individually or in a group setting? What will be the timeline for the objective to be accomplished, that is in a month’s time or a week’s time?
To elaborate on it, let me give you an example. I met teachers who wrote the following goal for their learners at Tier 2 (a small group of students who need to be given specific practice in a skill like reading) “The child answers questions based on the listening of an age-appropriate story/poem/song independently with 100 % accuracy.” Now let us explore what is included in this goal and what went amiss. The instructor has written what will the learner do (answer questions), where will they perform (independently). However, they missed the kinds of questions to be answered, the number of questions and the source for the songs. What will my students give as an end product should be clear. Thus I could modify the same goal as follows: The child answers 5 what based questions after listening to the song from
By creating the specific goals, I am clear on what I expect my learners to perform and attain mastery in. Once the output is clear in my head, I will execute it better and will be able to monitor the progress and