Precision Teaching and Direct Instruction



Precision Teaching

An introduction and practical guide for educational professionals

Doncaster Educational Psychology Service

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Introduction

Precision Training (PT) is based on extensive research with evidence that they provide best practice for teaching and monitoring literacy skills.

PT focuses on finding the most effective way to teach a particular child. The emphasis is on adjusting the teaching method to suit the child.

Instructional principles related to PT are:

• The pupil’s learning is accelerated by making teaching precise and cost effective

• Motivation is increased by pupils getting greatest returns for their efforts

• Little and often (distributed practice)

• Mix new materials with older more familiar materials to help retention (interleaved learning)

• Skills are taught to a high fluency level

Teaching of the target skill needs to be carried out daily for a short period of time.

This is followed by PT which should take no longer than five minutes.

PT can be preceded by various short, effective teaching strategies.

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Precision Teaching

After teaching, progress can be evaluated through PT. This has a number of components.

Giving pupils a probe

This is a sheet with the words randomly arranged in a grid. These will be the same items taught in the teaching section. The adult should record correct and incorrect responses on an identical probe (see page 6 for details).

Careful timing

The pupil will read as many words as possible in the allotted time (usually one or two minutes).

Counting

The number of correct responses and incorrect responses within the time allowed are counted.

Plotting

The correct and incorrect responses are plotted on the ratio chart.

Immediate feedback

The pupil is given feedback on their performance and this is compared with previous results. Improved results are to be congratulated. A dip in performance can lead to discussion on ways to improve the subsequent day, which can be motivating.

For best results it is important to have daily sessions.

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Aim Rates

What is an Aim Rate?

This is the desired level of speed and accuracy we set for the task. Within Precision Teaching this is defined by the rate of correct and incorrect responses given by the pupil in a specific time. The psychological theory suggests that the quicker the pupil can perform the skill correctly, the more likely it is that the pupil will retain that skill.

Identifying the Aim Rate:

• Where the pupil is required to read words from the assessment out loud (see-to-say assessment), the aim rate is 60 correct per minute with 2 or fewer errors.

• This can be adapted depending on the number of movements involved in the task. For example:

➢ Within phonics, pupils learn to segment and blend sounds. If the assessment were to test this process, the number of movements would increase.

|Pupil says: |Number of movements involved: |

|c - a - t |3 |

|c - a - t - ‘cat’ |4 |

|c - at |2 |

The number of movements involved in the task set will affect the number of correct answers expected in the minute assessment. In this example, where the pupil is expected to respond c - a - t - cat, the number of correct responses in the Aim Rate would be lowered due to the number of movements required. This could be used to reduce the number of correct answers required to 15 (60 correct answers/4 movements = 15), or increase the time to 2 minutes, requiring the pupil to give 30 correct answers with 2 or less incorrect answers.

➢ Within writing assessments (see-to-write or hear-to-write), the aim rate would be decreased to suit the needs of the pupil. A pre-test measure should be completed with the pupil where they are required to write a familiar secure word (i.e. their first name or a day of the week) on a sheet of paper for 2 minutes. The number of times the pupil was able to correctly write this word becomes the aim rate for the other assessments. A see-to-write assessment time would be extended to 2 minutes due to the amount of additional time it takes to write answers as opposed to verbally reading them out.

➢ This should also be adapted as appropriate to reflect the individual child’s needs. For example if a child has fine motor difficulties, the aim rate for a see-to-write assessment needs to be lower to reflect this.

Making changes

It is time to move on to the next set of target words when the aim rate has been achieved. A rate of between 40 to 60 correct words per minute with two or less incorrect would seem appropriate.

The following guides help to decide if a change is required.

The 3 day rule

The result of the first three days will tell you if the task is too hard or unrealistic. If this is the case consider reducing the number of words or go back to an earlier skill.

The 8 day rule

If the pupil is not at or very near the aim rate after eight days on the same task either attempt to increase motivation by teaching methods or rewards.

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Practical points to remember

• Seating arrangements:

• Find a ‘quiet’ place.

• Sit pupil on the member of staff’s non-writing side.

• Instructions:

• Encourage the pupil to do better than yesterday, “Let’s try to beat yesterday’s score!”

• Remind pupil about fluency and accuracy “Try to get them right and go as fast as you can”.

• Remind the pupil to try hard but if they find an item difficult to go on to the next word quickly.

• Timing:

• Say to the pupil, “Get ready”, and then “Go” followed by starting the timer.

• Member of staff watches timer and stops the assessment after specified time.

• Recording:

• Use another copy of the same assessment sheet to record pupil responses.

• Use ticks for correct answers and dashes for incorrect answers

• Observe pupil closely to ensure they do not miss an item or line.

• Unknown items:

• If child gets stuck, pause for 5 seconds and then encourage them to move on. This is because performance is measured within a time limit, if they spend time on answers they don’t know, this will affect their overall score.

• Cueing:

• If cueing (e.g. by following underneath each item with finger or marker) avoid slowing pupil down by ensuring that the marker is moved on to the next word ahead of pupil responses.

• Finishing assessment:

• If the pupil reaches the bottom of the assessment sheet before time, signal for them to begin again at the top of the sheet.

• Scoring:

• Calculate the number of correct and incorrect responses within the time and write these on top of the assessment.

• Charting:

• Chart results immediately with pupil or allow the pupil to chart for themselves.

• Discuss any changes in performance positively and give a motivational challenge, “Let’s see if we can get more right and less wrong tomorrow!”

• Ending:

• Always end on a positive and relaxed note, praising effort and focussing on what could be achieved the next day.

• ave necessary materials to hand: the target words written out clearly on a sheet, stopwatch, 2 copies of the probe and the ratio chart

• Try to minimise any distractions

• Sit next to the pupil, placing her on your non writing side

• Put the child at ease

• If the child hesitates or refuses a word, allow a predetermined time (say 5 seconds) then encourage him/her to move on

• Accurate timekeeping is essential

• If the pupil comes to the end of the probe (page) before the time is up encourage him/her to return to the top of the page and carry on

• When the time is up tell the child to stop and praise all efforts

• Calculate and record the results immediately

• Give immediate feedback

• Emphasise accuracy first then fluency

• Make the ratio chart colourful and attractive

• Always end on a positive note!

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More about probes

Probes are used in PT for monitoring the progress of pupils who experience difficulties in mastering basic educational skills.

Features of a probe

A probe tests the pupil’s performance on a highly specific task.

It samples the skill being taught.

A probe is given for a short fixed period of time: a maximum of one, two or three minutes.

Fixing the time makes it possible to work out the correct and incorrect number of responses made by the pupil in terms of rate, i.e. responses per minute.

As they are quick and easy to administer, they can be carried out daily and small changes can be detected.

Type of probe

Different tasks will require different ‘input’ and ‘output’ modes

• See-to-write e.g. addition, handwriting

• See-to-say e.g. reading, letter sounds, number work

• Hear-to-write e.g. spelling dictated, prose dictated

Probes can measure one or two teaching objectives.

• Single probe contains material which represents only one specific teaching objective

• Mixed probe involves several related teaching objectives e.g. a mixture of addition and subtraction facts.

The probe is often presented on a grid (see below). The taught items appear randomly. A see-to-write and hear-to-write probe will be blank for the pupil. The teacher has another probe sheet containing the correct responses.

|and |dad |say |look |mum |

|dad |look |mum |say |and |

|say |mum |dad |and |look |

|dad |and |look |mum |say |

|look |say |and |dad |mum |

|and |mum |look |say |dad |

|mum |and |say |dad |look |

|dad |look |say |and |mum |

Go to the website below to create your own probes.



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The Ratio Chart

Using the ratio chart is an essential part of PT. It gives clear visual feedback to the pupil which is very motivating. It is a quick and easy way of monitoring progress. It is easy to interpret and can be used to make decisions about the effectiveness of a teaching programme. A colourful attractive charts helps to maintain motivation

After counting the correct and incorrect responses per minute from the probe the chart is used as follows:

• The chart should be completed every day with the pupil after the assessment has been done.

• A correct response is denoted by a dot

• An incorrect response is denoted by a cross

• Dots and crosses are joined up to give a clear indication of the child’s progress. It would be hoped the line of dots would go up at a good rate and the line of crosses would go down.

• Where no testing has occurred due to absence or lack of opportunity, a gap is left to indicate a no chance day

How do we know progress is being made?

➢ Each pupil will have an aim rate which will be designed to match the skill being taught.

➢ The line made by joining up the correct answers should be going up, and the line made by joining up the incorrect answers should be going down.

How do we know when to change the teaching content?

➢ By looking at the graph we will be able to see how much progress the pupil is making by looking at the number of incorrect answers written at the bottom of the chart, and looking at the line made by the dots and stars.

➢ There are also some rules to follow to help us to know when we need to change the teaching content:

• 3 day rule. During the first 3 days if the line for correct answers only rises a little, stays the same or decreases, this tell us that the task we have set is too difficult. This may require slicing the task, simplifying the task or considering the pre-requisite skills the pupil may need (see examples below*).

• 8 day rule. After 8 days Precision Teaching expects that the pupil should be at or very nearly at their Aim Rate. If this is not the case this could show us that we need to change our teaching method to increase the pupil’s enjoyment of the teaching activities. It may also show us that we need to modify the number of skills we are teaching or the way we are teaching them to help the pupil to learn them faster.

* Task Slice = reduce the number of items to be learned.

* Simplify the task = learn not all CVC words, but only those with the same medial vowel.

* Consider pre-requisite skills = if the pupil is finding CVC words difficult, it may be important to go back to letter sounds and check that the pupil has secure knowledge of these.

• When a new phase or task is started, a vertical line is drawn showing a phase change

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10 Common Clangers

1. Inaccurate or variable timing or probes.

2. Misunderstanding of ‘rate measurement’ (correct or incorrect response per minute). For example, “He finished before his time was up.” “She only took 40 seconds.” “He was doing so well that I let him finish the whole page.” – often indicates misunderstanding.

3. The probe does not directly sample the performance required by the target. For example, using Unifix cubes for teaching and a pen and paper activity for the probe.

4. Probing and charting without any teaching. This is like weighing the pig in order to fatten it! The teaching activity should relate directly to the specific skill.

5. Probing without charting. The teachers who make most effective use of PT have understood the need for immediate and graphic feedback both for pupil and for themselves (to keep the programme on track) – and this is what the ratio chart does par excellence. Without this quick, daily scrutiny, the program can become fixed, unresponsive to the pupil’s needs and ultimately ineffective.

6. The step size of the task is too large. Get the step size right to make the task achievable and confidence boosting.

7. The aim rate is never achieved because the rate of progress flattens out before it is reached – the child is allowed to continue without a change being made.

8. The child is not given immediate feedback on performance or genuine praise for effort.

9. Trusting a provisional aim rate without double checking at a later date that the skill has been maintained.

10. Inadequately labelled charts, so that, in reviewing progress, the choice of tasks and methods used is not clear, or forgotten. It’s also important to make the chart attractive to look at – very motivating for children (and adults too!)

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