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How do I make tasks explicit?
Writing: Make the instructions explicit
- Describe (explain details about)…
- Compare (show differences and similarities between)…
- Analyse (identify component parts and the relationships between them)…
- Evaluate (judge value according to some criteria)…
- Critically review (describe positive and negative aspects of)…
Reading: Guide students through the process
- Choose short readings, or sections.
- Provide guiding questions.
- Provide glossaries.
- Provide annotations.
- Grade tasks in terms of cognitive complexity - read the lines (literal), read between the lines (interpretive) read beyond the lines (applied).
Adapted from Morris, A. and Stewart-Dore, N, 1990 Learning to Learn from Text: Effective Reading in the Content Areas, Addison-Wesley, North Ryde, NSW.
Be aware that students may need to be explicitly taught how knowledge is organised in western academic settings.
Alert them to:
- taxonomies, classifications, categorisations.
Show how these
- are now formalised on the hierarchical structure of web sites
- can be a useful tool for students when categorising their knowledge.
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