Instructional Pace: Not Too Fast

A Slower Instructional Pace benefits Students

As teachers we are aware of how far we have been asked to take our students during the year. As educators, well, we know that:

• Students learn at different speeds.
• If we move too quickly through the curriculum some students will be left behind.
• If we move too slowly some students will be bored.
• Just because we taught it, doesn’t mean our students learned it.
• Teaching and learning are complex.

What is a teacher to do?

Recall the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare. Make haste, slowly.

Move through the curriculum with small, sure steps. Making each new idea as close as possible to a familiar idea has several advantages:

• New ideas seem self evident because they are so similar to what students already know.
• The work seems easier.
• Gives students more time to reflect on and conceptualize big ideas.
• Gives teachers more time to address students’ questions.
• Makes each step crystal clear to students.
• Reduces the cognitive load of each lesson.

Teachers can still differentiate by challenging students who might otherwise feel bored with the slower pace. Providing horizontal exploration of the content gives students a more expansive view of the content at their grade level.

One way to support learners who might otherwise struggle with the content is to have them work ahead of the class!

It may seem counterintuitive, but hear me out. Either share upcoming material with interventionists and ESL teachers, or gather a small group of learners in need of support and pre-teach the upcoming lesson to them. Let them practice the new vocabulary or strategy ahead of time. In this way, when they participate in the lesson with the rest of the class, the information will already be familiar to them. Rather than risk them not understanding the lesson, pre teaching gives them the skills and information they need to get the most out of the lesson.

Slowing down to go faster is especially important in math. Introducing new concepts one tiny step at a time helps your students relax and perhaps even start to enjoy math. It increases their confidence as well as their abilities.