Directions Tips

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How important is it to give appropriate and effective directions? Jennifer Jinkins explains:

Directions give students their first impression of an activity. It's like walking into an office building--the atmosphere inside is either warm and inviting or cold and intimidating; the receptionist cordially welcomes you or passively instructs you to take a seat. It is here that you decide whether your business will be enjoyable or just something to be endured. In the same way, directions set a tone for the entire activity. With this in mind, we ought to construct directions that are at least user friendly and a good advertisement for what is to come.

Tips for giving effective directions from Science Education majors in ED 398 (thanks Jennifer, Ben Randell, Alan Cotten, Kim Mabray, Bill Grady, and Edward Lord):

• Establish from the first day some kind of signal for student attention: e.g., standing calm and quiet with an index finger in the air.
  • Couple this with consequences for ignoring the signal.
  • Reinforce the signalling by consistent use of the signal.
  • Never raise your voice to get students' attention.
• Give both oral and written directions together!
  • Always support oral directions with written directions (either in handouts or outlined on the blackboard) for the sake of both auditory and visual learners. Of course, the blackboard version may be a checklist, or worded more concisely, than the oral version.
  • Use pictures and diagrams of materials as well as terms.
  • Use diagrams to chart the logical flow of an assignment.
• It does not follow that the directions for a challenging assignment must themselves be challenging!
• Be concise--it should not take a student more time to listen to the instructions than to finish the assignment. Simplify directions as much as possible. Omit needless words.
• Instead of ambushing students with a long barrage of instructions, present oral instructions in small clusters as they progress through the assignment.
• When should directions be given? Only when students are attending. Don't give directions if students are not listening.
• Give directions as planned--do not allow them to be cut short by a gifted student. Continue to instruct everyone in the task at hand.
• Give directions sequentially. Analyze complex tasks: When making up a handout, give one direction at a time, distinguishing successive tasks into separately numbered items (don't say do this, this, and this... in the same item).
• Properly sequence the directions. Include everything in the directions IN ORDER... DO NOT give direction #5 and afterward explain that before doing that, students should have completed direction #6. Of course this seems obvious, but who hasn't seen it happen before?
• If directions are complex (e.g., an involved lab) give the students a procedure handout the day before the lab.
  • Give a pre-lab quiz to ensure that students come to lab already knowing what to do: accidents are more likely when students have their eyes constantly on the lab procedure instead of on the apparatus.
• Give directions with appropriate timing, step by step.
  • How many steps at one time? Only one at a time if it is a new procedure; if the process is familiar, never more than three at a time.
• Give directions immediately before a task, not until needed.
• Give directions pertaining to materials (e.g., handout) before distributing the materials in order to secure students' undivided attention.
• Incorporate words with exciting, active connotations whenever possible, so long as they do not obscure your meaning.
• Don't expect students to read your mind--if you fail to clearly communicate your objectives, don't grade products harshly that do not exactly meet your expectations. For example, if you instruct students who are to look at slides under a microscope merely to "Draw what you see," don't penalize them if they draw all of the field of view when only a portion would have sufficed.
• Model the directions, e.g., by doing a sample problem on the board. Have your own set of materials in front of you to demonstrate the steps as you go.
• Know the directions well yourself! Rehearse the task to make sure your directions are complete.
• Explain reasons for involved directions or laboratory procedures. If students realize the safety behind the method, or the efficiency behind your method, they will be more likely to cooperate.
• Check for understanding as directions are given.
  • Give them in written form, oral form, model them, and then check student understanding.
  • Do not rely on choral responses in monitoring student understanding: alternate persons asked, then follow the student's response with "How many agree?"
  • Be able to reword directions in different ways.
  • Plan for individual difficulties. When remediation is necessary, ask a student to explain back to you what he or she does understand. Call on another student to do the same, until the misunderstanding is cleared up.
• Avoid self-referencing language when it is not necessary or pertinent to the task. Focus attention on the task itself, rather than on the teacher's feelings. Say "Do this..." instead of "I want you to do this...." Ask students directly to do something, rather than acting as though you are manipulating them to make you happy by doing it.
• Make directions as interesting, novel, and enjoyable as possible. Be creative in giving directions, and teach students to follow directions on their own. Never let directions restrict learning.
• Have we given too many directions for giving directions???

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