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Why it Works

Help for Grant Writers

This page provides some background information about distributed practice and the Simple Solutions Approach. Grant writers are welcome to use anything on this page to assist in the development of proposals aimed at funding Simple Solutions.

Contact the authors of Simple Solutions to discuss professional development and training as part of your grant or other funding proposal.

Rationale for the Simple Solutions Approach

Simple Solutions is a supplement to the curriculum, and its purpose is to provide daily distributed practice. This practice allows students to regularly and systematically revisit material that has been introduced by the classroom teacher. Research tells us that information that is studied for a year or less will be retained for only a year or less (Semb, Ellis, & Araujo, 1993). On the other hand, material that is studied for three or four years may be retained for as long as 50 years, beyond the last practice (Bahrick, 1984). A new skill becomes automatic with sustained repetition and practice over time (Willingham, 2004).

Simple Solutions products are aligned with the most widely agreed upon academic content standards for each subject area. Teachers can compare the topics and academic content standards required by their curriculum with those listed in the Simple Solutions Pacing Charts.

One of the main purposes of homework is to provide for the reinforcement and practice of skills which are critical to the development of automaticity and fluency. Furthermore, the design of homework should be such that students can complete it independently. According to the authors of Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, homework that is assigned for practice "should be structured around content with which students have a high degree of familiarity... Practicing a skill with which a student is unfamiliar is not only inefficient, but might also serve to habituate errors or misconceptions" (Marzano, et.al. 2001).

In the Simple Solutions Approach, the teacher assigns one lesson per day - about 10 to 15 items covering various skills. When the lesson is checked during the first few minutes of class the next day, students are given an opportunity to ask as many questions as needed, and the teacher provides additional similar items for practice until everyone is satisfied that she/he understands. Items requiring those skills then come up again and again for practice and reinforcement throughout the course of the year in the Simple Solutions book. For the remainder of the class, the teacher is able to spend the time presenting new material. Once the new material is presented, the students also encounter that material on an on-going basis in the Simple Solutions homework lessons.

Using Distributed Practice as Homework or Independent Work

A teacher's common frustration is that there is just too much material to cover in any given school year, and students often do not remember what has been taught from month to month, let alone from one year to the next. It is critical, therefore, to make the most efficient use of homework time by employing a strategy that is backed by research and is proven effective.

One of the main purposes of homework in both mathematics and language arts is to provide for the reinforcement and practice of skills which are critical to the development of automaticity and fluency. Furthermore, the design of homework should be such that students can complete it independently. According to the authors of Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement, homework that is assigned for practice "should be structured around content with which students have a high degree of familiarity... Practicing a skill with which a student is unfamiliar is not only inefficient, but might also serve to habituate errors or misconceptions" (Marzano, et.al. 2001).

Educational psychologist, Daniel Willingham, urges teachers to "design homework assignments that distribute practice: In developing homework assignments, strongly consider including material that was taught in previous weeks and even months" (Willingham, 2002). Massed practice has its place; it provides students with an opportunity to gain familiarity with new material. However, "cramming" tends to produce short-term gains. It is not effective for long-term retention. Furthermore, there is no reason to "cram" when students have a chance to practice and review consistently over time. Willingham notes, "When test time arrives, students have already distributed their learning a bit; the test becomes one more in a series of practice opportunities" (ibid).

Distributed practice or "spacing," as it is sometimes called, provides yet another benefit. When faced with massed practice (as seen in traditional worksheets or even interactive computer software) the student simply approaches each item with the same procedure for solving. This type of practice becomes rote - what has been called "drill and kill." On the other hand, when presented with mixed review sets over a period of days, weeks, and months, the student is challenged; he is required to constantly shift gears. This approach enhances learning because the learner is faced with the need to remember and to think critically about how to approach each item (Rohrer and Pashler, 2007).

Available for both mathematics and language arts, Simple Solutions is designed to be used as daily homework. In the Simple Solutions Approach, the teacher assigns one homework lesson per day - about 10 to 15 items covering various skills. When the lesson is checked during the first few minutes of class the next day, students are given an opportunity to ask as many questions as needed, and the teacher provides additional similar items for practice until everyone is satisfied that she/he understands. Items requiring those skills then come up again and again for practice and reinforcement throughout the course of the year in the Simple Solutions book. For the remainder of the math or language arts class, the teacher is able to spend the time presenting new material. Once the new material is presented, the students also encounter that material on an on-going basis in the Simple Solutions homework lessons.

Assessment and Feed-back

A well designed instructional strategy provides students with timely, specific feedback and uses on-going assessment to inform and drive instruction. According to experts, feedback is effective when it is given in a timely manner, and quality feedback should not only point out mistakes but also underscore what students are doing correctly (Marzano, et.al. 2001). Simple Solutions has a strong built-in assessment component which informs and drives instruction. This assessment component has three parts:
  1. Students are given a pre-test and a post-test. At the beginning of the academic year, the test measures retention of skills from previous grades and pre-assesses knowledge of material which will be covered at the current grade level. As a follow-up, the post-test is given near the end of the school year, and a comparison of the scores reveals the net gain for each student.
  2. Student self-checking of the daily lessons is an integral part of the Simple Solutions Approach. Students check their answers, and then ask the teacher for clarification of items which were troublesome. By going over the items in class each day, the teacher is able to closely monitor which skills are being mastered and which skills should be the target of re-teaching, intervention, or additional practice.
  3. After every four lessons, students take a weekly quiz, based on the items completed during the week. Again, the teacher can clearly see the status of each student with regard to the mastery of specific skills. Based on the performance of students, the teacher can then plan precise intervention, as well as whole-class instruction, for the following week.

Goals of Implementing the
Simple Solutions Approach

  1. Increase student academic achievement by providing students with daily distributed practice. Enable students to continually reinforce their learning by systematically revisiting material that was previously taught.
  2. Increase classroom time allocated to the teaching of new material (as outlined by curriculum guides and academic content standards) by allowing students to do their practice work on their own and/or as homework.
  3. Increase student success rate (raise report card grades, expand frequency and extent of participation, bump up assignment completion rate) by combining independent distributed practice with classroom instruction and other forms of practice.
  1. Increase student self-confidence in math and other areas by allowing students to experience the link between day-by-day effort and long-term success. Decrease students' anxiety about mathematics and writing by providing them the opportunity to master grade level material in small bits, over time.

Evaluation Methods

  1. Measure academic achievement: Administer the pre- test (provided in the Simple Solutions Teacher's Edition) during the first week of school. Administer the post-test near the end of the school year and compare results. The results of standardized achievement tests such as the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or the TerraNova (as compared to previous years) may also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
  2. Design a teacher end-of-year survey to assess the effectiveness of Simple Solutions with regard to time allocated to the teaching of new material and increasing the amount of material covered, as compared to previous years.
  3. Track individual student weekly test scores and report card grades. Track individual student homework patterns, class participation, and assignment completion.
  4. Collect data about student attitudes toward the subject area in which Simple Solutions is used. Design student surveys (beginning and end-of-year) which address the affective influence of using Simple Solutions.

Resources

Ainsworth, L. & Christinson, J. Five Easy Steps to a Balanced Math Program: A Practical Guide for K-8 Classroom Teachers. Englewood, CO: Advanced Learning Press, 200-2004.

Bahrick, H.P. Semantic memory content in permastore: fifty years of memory for Spanish learned in school. Journal of Experimental Psychology, (113) 1984.

Marzano, R., Pickering, D.J., & Pollock. Classroom Instruction That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2001.

Rohrer, D. & Pashler, H. Increasing retention without increasing study time. Current Directions in Psychological Science. Vo. 16, No. 4, (2007): pp. 183-186.

Semb, G. B.,Ellis, J. A., & Araujo, J. Long-term memory for knowledge learned in school. Journal of Educational Psychology, (85) 1993, 305-316.

Willingham, Daniel T. Practice makes perfect - but only if you practice beyond the point of perfection. American Educator. Spring, 2004. Available online at
http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring2004/cogsci.html

Willingham, Daniel T. Allocating student study time: "Massed" versus "distributed practice." American Educator. Summer, 2002. Available online at
http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/summer2002/askcognitivescientist.html