Guided Practice
Overview
Opportunities for students to practice skills in context, with instructor support and also independently, helps to move concepts and ideas into Long-term Memory. Through guided practice, the instructor or facilitator gradually releases scaffolds, allowing learners to develop independence. When content information and processes are broken down into smaller chunks and learners are allotted practice time in between, learning is strengthened. This is particularly true for literacy instruction where guided practice reinforces Foundational Reading Skills.
Use It In Your Learning Environment
During periods of direct instruction, instructors can model different skills, introduce new concepts, and have students practice in small groups or independently. This can be facilitated in person or through online forums. In either setting, instructors should be available to assist students during this process, ensuring honest and open feedback is provided to remedy mistakes.
Guided practice is most efficient when the instructor poses questions that require learners to rehearse, process, and recall the new material. For new material to be internalized and stored in learners' Long-term Memory, developers must facilitate this rehearsal and recall process. For example, they can embed reflection questions and additional explanations or examples as learners practice and retrieve the material. This practice bolsters learners' Speed of Processing by supporting their abilities to retrieve stored information from their Long-term Memory.
Additional Resources
Additional examples, research, and professional development. These resources are possible representations of this strategy, not endorsements.
Factors Supported by this Strategy
More Instructional Approaches Strategies
When adults can connect and communicate with authentic audiences about their interests and values, learning becomes more personally meaningful and relevant.
When designing instruction for adults, expectations and goals should be clearly outlined to help learners focus on the material and make plans for success.
Competency-based learning is self-paced, focused on mastery, and centered around demonstrating learning outcomes and skills rather than where or how they were attained.
In an increasingly digital world, adults who struggle with using technology can benefit from direct instruction for an array of digital tools.
Teaching learners how to effectively search the internet is critical for helping them learn how to find accurate and relevant information and aids in developing information literacy.
Direct instruction in math strategies may support some adult learners once conceptual understanding is in place.
Research shows that, along with traditional reading comprehension strategies, learners use unique strategies to read the non-linear, hyperlinked structure of online texts.
Adult learners who are struggling with Foundational Reading Skills, including decoding and phonemic awareness, can benefit from explicitly learning phonics skills in an educational setting.
Seeing and using new words repeatedly and across contexts is critical for vocabulary acquisition.
Formative assessment is "assessment for learning" rather than "assessment of learning".
Intentionally incorporating voice and choice into adult learning experiences is critical for making learning meaningful and relevant.
Metaphors and analogies can support learners by helping to form connections and to notice patterns and similarities that promote learning, self-concept, and higher order thinking.
Mindfulness is a practice to create internal balance and a sense of being present in the moment.
Instruction and training presented in multiple formats allows learners to activate different cognitive skills and Background Knowledge that are necessary to remember procedural and content information.
Using multiple methods of assessment can help educators gain a comprehensive understanding of learner progress across a wide range of skills and content.
When instructors ask questions or have learners create questions before introducing a text, they activate interest, increase Motivation, and help them assess what they already know about a given topic.
Process-based writing focuses on how learners brainstorm, outline, draft, and revise their writing and is most effective when paired with feedback, especially for English language learners.
When instructors are able to provide context, and connect math concepts to an adult learner's world, math can be seen as relevant and applicable to their daily lives and work- a core aspect of adult Numeracy.
Learning and studying information across multiple sessions that are spaced, or distributed in time, can promote learning and long-term retention of both basic and conceptually complex facts and concepts.
A strengths-based approach is one where educators intentionally identify, communicate, and harness learners' assets to empower them to flourish.
