Simplification Series

Simple can be an insulting word. "Come on, it is sooooo simple!" The person on the receiving end of this exclamation is often times NOT in the midst of a simple endeavor, like teaching. Teaching is not simple. However, processes associated with teaching may be simplified and that is the premise of this series of blog posts:  Simplification. I have been influenced by Peter DeWitt's emphasis on de-implementation as well as my own ongoing love affair with reductionism (more here).

I am borrowing a protocol from healthcare to build upon. This healthcare protocol is called a SOAP note. It appears that healthcare and education share their love of acronyms! SOAP is Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan. Without doing a deep dive, this is what a healthcare provider might "note" in a patient's chart:  "Patient presents with abdominal pain (Subjective), has a fever (Objective), CT Scan is abnormal/appendix inflamed (Objective), white blood cell count is elevated (Objective). Analysis/conclusion is appendicitis (Assessment) and an appendectomy (Plan) is ordered. That represents a critical moment in time for the patient and the healthcare provider. Let's flip the script.

A science educator's curriculum outlines a lesson (as part of a module/unit) on the human digestive system. At this point, the class has been on this module/unit for several class periods and should be ready for an application-type activity. Should be ready...how does the educator know? Formative assessment would be ideal here and let's say this clever science educator uses a SOAP note on a hypothetical patient as part of the application activity. Of course, the educator wants to mix it up, so collaborative groups of students work on different application activities, with different SOAP notes, associated with the structure, function, and diseases of the human digestive system. What if the educator uses an AID note for themself and their student(s)? 

AID is Assess(ment), Instruct(ion), Determine next steps. Nothing earth-shattering here, but what if this AID note is just for this activity/lesson. Feedback is based upon this simple "note". The feedback is for the student and the educator, much like the SOAP note is for the patient and the healthcare provider. Important information for both parties and the information is provided in a simplified, timely, and actionable format.

Scenario:  Collaborative student group finishes activity and shares that their patient has indigestion/reflux and should begin a regimen of antacids (this "diagnosis"should sound familiar to the stressed educator!). Well, the SOAP note for this group was the appendicitis SOAP note example from above, so this group is off course. This is where the AID note becomes like a chemical equation because assessment and instruction are reversible in education. Re-teaching is possible, re-looping is possible, re-testing is possible, etc. This is one of the many positives to using formative assessments....actionable assessment information, in the midst of instruction, so adjustments can still be made. The AID process can also be presented like a reversible chemical reaction:

Determine Next Steps <------ Assess(ment)  <------>  Instruct(ion) ------> Determine Next Steps

The last thing the science educator wants is for this group's misdiagnosis to become a misconception. No educator wants an avoidable misconception to move further down the road and then become fossilized. The aware educator visits this group and has a fruitful discussion with the group of students regarding their thinking/analysis of the available information regarding their patient. This process discussion allows the educator to pinpoint where student thinking went off course and now the science educator can, hopefully, right the course. Please note that all of this revolves around one lesson (simplified), in one classroom (functional subunit of the school), during one class period (simplified). Nothing about the above is simple, heck it took six paragraphs to convey the "simple" message and it may not still be clear to the reader. Thankfully, this is a simplification series, so stay tuned!