Imagine you're learning to bake a cake for the first time. You start by gathering the basic ingredients and maybe even understanding the roles each ingredient plays in making the cake taste delicious. Then you would mix the ingredients together to form a batter, then bake the cake, decorate the cake, admire the cake, and finally devour the cake.
When making a cake, it does not make sense to put just any ingredients together. Even when you have the right ingredients, you wouldn't start by putting all of the ingredients in the oven before mixing them into a batter. This approach would not yield the expected outcome. In order to achieve the desired outcome, you must follow the recipe and understand the role each ingredient plays in the creating the perfect cake.
Instructional sequencing is similar to baking the perfect cake.
When teaching content, we begin with fundamental concepts and what students already know. Then we build off of that knowledge with more complex skills and tasks, just like a recipe builds flavors by layering ingredients. As students are taught new concepts, we follow a sequence of steps to determine their understanding, just as a recipe guides each step of the baking process.
In teaching, instructional sequencing refers to the order in which educational content and activities are presented to learners. It involves carefully planning and organizing the learning materials, tasks, and activities in a logical and coherent manner to facilitate effective learning. Proper instructional sequencing is essential because it can significantly impact a learner's understanding, retention, and ability to apply the knowledge or skills being taught. Just as a well-sequenced recipe ensures the cake turns out delicious, instructional sequencing ensures that the learning experience is cohesive and understandable. Each step is designed to prepare students for the next step, making the educational journey as smooth and enjoyable as baking a perfect cake.
5 Best Practices to Ensure Effective Instructional Sequencing
1. When designing the sequence of lessons, it's important to consider the topic, the texts you will use to teach the topic, the target of each lesson, and the tasks students will complete to demonstrate their understanding of each target you will teach.
2. Students must be explicitly taught the skills required to actively read and then they must be given opportunities to practice applying the skills into active reading. Students should also be given lots of opportunities to write to demonstrate understanding and critical thinking about the topics they are reading and learning about. The practice of reading and writing should not be separated. Reading is the process and practice of interpreting content, and writing is the process and application of constructing texts to demonstrate understanding.
3. Lessons should be sequenced so students have a purpose for reading and learning. Learning should be relevant to students. Instructional sequencing should connect the learning content to real-world applications. Demonstrating the practical relevance of the material can enhance learners' motivation and understanding.
4. To ensure student engagement, effective instruction requires you to also consider how you will move from simple to more complex concepts. When students are cognitively overloaded, it's hard for them to process and understand the content. Breaking down complex topics into manageable chunks can enhance comprehension. As students learn new concepts and skills they should be offered multiple checks for understanding so that instruction can be adjusted accordingly.
5. Students deserve timely, relevant, and actionable feedback throughout the learning process. This time must be considered as part of instructional sequencing. Feedback should align to what you are teaching and how students are applying their understanding. Students should be offered actionable steps to move forward in the learning process.
12 Questions to Consider to Ensure Instructional Sequencing Aligns to Best Practices
Do I know and understand the standard?
Can I describe the skills required to master the standard?
What is the topic I will use to teach the skills?
Is the topic relevant to students?
How will I gather students' knowledge of the topic before explicit instruction?
What texts will I use to teach the topic and skills?
Do I know how I will chunk instruction to move from simple to more complex?
What are the tasks students will engage in to demonstrate their understanding of content and application of skills?
How wand when will I offer feedback to students as they progress through learning tasks?
How will I assess students and have them self-assess?
How will I use assessment data?
How much time will I spend on explicit instruction and student practice time?
Instructional sequencing is a thoughtful and systematic approach to organizing learning materials and activities. By considering learners' prior knowledge, cognitive load, engagement, application opportunities, feedback, and real-world relevance, all teachers can create effective and engaging learning experiences. Just as a well-sequenced recipe ensures the cake turns out delicious, instructional sequencing ensures that the learning experience for students is cohesive and understandable. Each step is designed to prepare students for the next, making everyone's educational journey as smooth and enjoyable as baking a perfect cake, because no one wants to eat a gross cake.
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