I do / We do Atomisation
Does Atomisation put an end to the now very popular 'I do / We do' model?
Podcast is AI generated, and will make mistakes. Interactive transcript available in the podcast post.
In a future post I’ll be writing specifically about the You do phase; the 5-20 minutes of silent independent practice. Subscribe below and we’ll let you know when it’s out.
I do, We do
I do / We do / You do. This is the name for a now very popular model of explicit instruction. It was popularised, at least in this format, by Doug Lemov in
. It aligns perfectly with the idea to use 'worked-example problem pairs’ from cognitive load theory: I’ll do a worked example. Now we’ll go through a similar example together - you’ll do it, but we’ll check on it together very soon. Now we’ve done a few of those, you do some independent practice of this for a while.In What is Atomisation, I wrote that it’s fantastic for managing cognitive load, but this was relative to alternative models like inquiry and discovery.
I do / We do is state of the art right now, and unfortunately it is not enough.
observed a teacher spend over 6 minutes working through an ‘I do’ for the Sine Rule; almost guaranteed cognitive overload.I’ve heard teachers say they just cannot see any way to simplify things further for their most struggling students.
To all this, I have claimed that atomisation is the solution.
So does this mean an end to the I do / We do model?
Not at all. Atomisation and Unstoppable Learning are 100% compatible with I do / We do, it just looks a little different.
In a traditional classroom the I do is a worked example of a full cognitive routine. The We do is then a similar problem on the board next to it.
In Unstoppable Learning there are two principle modes of teaching: Atomic Instruction and Chaining.
In Atomic Instruction you will mainly be focused on communicating a concept, a categorical or a transformation.
As a part of Atomic Instruction there will also be Initial Testing.
In Chaining, you will be building up a cognitive routine for your students, made up of the atoms they have now already mastered.
So here’s what I do / We do looks like in each case:
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