| Content |
Lead to a specific
and successful outcome. |
"How well is the student performing the second step in the
test-taking strategy?" and "Did the strategy help the
student pass the test?" The learner can examine the result
of his or her effort and begin to evaluate the effectiveness
of the strategy.
|
| Are sequenced in
a manner that leads to an efficient approach to the task. |
A strategy taught to students must be a collection of "best"
ideas organized in the "best" sequence that leads to the
"best" mental and physical actions for the task. |
| Cue students to
use specific cognitive strategies. |
Cognitive strategies such as activating background
knowledge, generating questions, summarizing,
organizing, imaging, and so forth. |
| Cue students to
use metacognition (learning to learn) |
Reflection on and evaluation of the way a task is being
approached and accomplished (e.g. self-questioning, goal-setting,
checking, reviewing, self-monitoring) should be
included in the steps of the strategy when they are
important in completing a task. |
| Cue the student
to take some type of overt
action. |
|
| Can be performed by the
student in a
limited amount
of time. |
A strategy must be performed in a relatively short time.
Otherwise the self-instruction process involved in
performing the strategy will be undermined, rendering the
process ineffective. |
| Are essential and
do not include
unnecessary
steps or
explanations. |
|
| Design |
Use a
remembering
system. |
Such as COPS - an acronym used to remember the steps in
editing (capitals, overall appearance, punctuation and
spelling). |
| Use simple and
brief wording. |
Each step contains only a few action words to facilitate a
direct association to the cognitive and physical actions that
are necessary to perform the step and that have been
presented to the individual already as part of the full
explanation of that strategy. |
| Begin with
"action words" |
|
| Use seven or
fewer steps. |
|
| Use words that
are uncomplicated
and familiar to
students. |
|
| Usefulness |
Address a
common but
important
existing problem
that students are
encountering in
their settings. |
Strategies tend to be learned and generalized more quickly
than strategies that seem to have less utility from students'
perspectives. |
| Address
demands that are
encountered
frequently over
an extended
time. |
Strategies that are useful immediately and whose benefits
are apparent immediately. |
| Can be applied
across a variety
of settings,
situations, and
contexts. |
The strategy instruction is necessarily intensive and
extensive; therefore the relative cost-benefit ratio plays an
important role in the effectiveness of strategies. |