Ever tried putting together flat-pack furniture without using the instructions?
Nope – me neither – partly because I’ve heard too many horror stories, and partly because I’m too much of a ‘follow the rules’ type-a-gal for that ?
But I do remember as a kid challenging myself to put together a lego-model without the instructions, just the pic on the box.
(Must’ve been having a rebellious moment, or just extremely bored on a wet English afternoon. Most likely the latter)*
Did I manage it?…
It was a pirate ship and me and my sister had made it plenty of times before, WITH the step-by-step instructions.
And how did this ‘no instructions’ version of said pirate ship work out?
Well I did it.
Eventually.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty good. Let’s say it was a B grade pirate ship.
But it also took a lot longer of course.
A few false starts and quite a few episodes of taking bits apart and re-doing sections where I’d used a part I then realised I needed somewhere else.
Just like when students try to write an essay or complete an assignment without a clear set of steps, a template, a checklist or a clear plan to help them move step by step towards a clear end result.
In fact I see many students fumbling their way through an extended task, with no real idea of what they’re even aiming for, what it should do or say or look like at the end.
They’re working without even having the picture of the pirate ship from the box!
Let alone having any instructions for all the pieces.
So to take this a step further – let’s call the picture of the finished model, the ‘Model Response’ (geddit) 😉
Or the A-grade exemplar.
Sometimes students will be shown a model response for a similar task or question
and in exams, these are printed in the retrospectives and marking guides.
And they can be reeeeally helpful, for sure.
Just like putting together the pirate ship was a hell of a lot easier with the picture to look at.
BUT –
(yep, there’s always a ‘but’, right?!)
Being given a model response isn’t enough if students are going to be able to work confidently and efficiently on their own task.
Because they don’t necessarily know WHY that’s an A-grade response, or what process the other student went through to create it, or what elements in there specifically make it an A-grade response.
That’s why they need to be clear on all the components AND the ways they’re put together AND how to do that for themselves.
That’s why I’m such a fan of giving students resources and trainings that are what I call ‘universal’.
Not spoon-fed ‘fill in the gaps’ type scaffolds that can only be applied to one particular task , but proven systems or blueprints if you like, that can be applied to a particular type of task across all different subjects and topics.
Like:
A checklist and system that can be used to proofread any piece of writing effectively.
Or:
A template that can be used to construct a response to any type of evaluation level essay.
And:
Proven steps to brainstorming and then selecting an A-grade idea or topic for an open-ended task.
So that they’re not just haphazardly trying to piece together whatever knowledge they have and aren’t having to re-do or re-draft or edit multiple times before they come out with a great pirate ship.
Sorry, I mean great essay/assignment 😉
Let me know your thoughts on this!
Does your teen love steps and clear instructions?
Or perhaps they’re the more creative type who is capable of crafting a ship that’s even better than the box cover (not me at all by the way. I’m not the creative type, but I play to my strengths – structure and systems)!
Whatever your feedback, let me know in the comments below.
Let’s make this a fantastic week.
Katie 🙂
*Definitely the latter. Rebel was not in my vocabulary. Still isn’t to be honest. Unless you count the time last week I jumped the take-out queue at a coffee kiosk. I’d never been to it before and I hadn’t realised there was a queue the other side… til I was stood waiting for my cuppa and saw the four people around the other end of the counter – oops! So I guess even that doesn’t count, and I’m good with that ?
