Teaching test-taking and following directions is an important part of our role as educators. Not teaching to the test, but teaching how to take a test, how to follow directions, how to read prompts, and how to analyze questions. 

Topics Discussed

• Why bother teaching these skills?
• Specific situations to consider
• How does this targeted practice help students?

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Brittany 0:00

Hello, Ellie.

Ellie 0:01

Hello.

Brittany 0:02

We both have adult kids in their 20s. So how many steps do you feel like you can give them in a set of directions before they're confused?

Ellie 0:13

Hmm, I think it depends on the person, and sometimes it's not confusion as much as just forgetting the last steps. So maybe three or four.

Brittany 0:25

Yeah, my mine are about there. They top out, maybe at four or five. But it does depend on the person. Plus both of my children are gifted with a blind eye when it comes to finding the most obvious thing.

Ellie 0:39

I think it also depends on the context. If I'm giving directions for how to put something together, it would be likely be fewer steps than directions for baking something. Of course, it depends on what I'm putting together, but it depends on the context.

Brittany 0:53

See mine are opposite. If I'm doing putting together, I think they could do that better than cooking something or taking something. Welcome to the teaching Toolbox Podcast. Today we're here to talk about the concept of teaching test taking and following directions, not teaching to the test, but teaching how to take a test, how to follow directions, how to read prompts and how to analyze questions first.

Ellie 1:24

Why don't we look at the pros of teaching kids how to follow directions? Because we might think, well, we don't have to teach them - that they should just know. Yeah, right. But teaching kids to follow directions helps them develop discipline and focus. Developing discipline is crucial for academic success, and developing focus helps improve attention to detail, which is an essential skill in both academics and life. Teaching students to follow directions helps improve academic performance, because students are more likely to grasp concepts and complete assignments accurately when they can follow directions correctly and when students know how to follow directions, it reduces the need for reteaching or correcting mistakes, which leads to more efficient use of class time. Learning to follow directions helps students also prepare for real world situations. Many real world tasks, from following a recipe to adhering to workplace protocols, require precise listening and execution. So students will gain life and job skills if they are able to listen to and follow directions, and also if they can read and follow directions. Sometimes we read things and we don't follow the directions that are there right in front of us. Also in situations where safety is a concern, like science labs and certain physical activities, following directions precisely is critical.

Brittany 2:53

I'm going to jump in here for a second. One of the first things we taught our kids when they were like little little was to listen to us when we were out and about, like at the playground, stores, hiking, etc, we were able to demonstrate to them how we could often see danger before they could and so if they ever heard us say stop or run or whatever, they were To do it immediately. Not ask. Why not say, but you know, just follow the direction. Yeah, just follow the direction. And it actually came in handy several times.

Ellie 3:31

Yeah, for sure, those first lessons in following directions were often very safety driven. I would agree. One more pro of teaching students to follow directions is that it can enhance collaborative learning. Following directions accurately is really important in group work or group settings, where the success of the project depends on everyone understanding and fulfilling their role.

Brittany 3:54

So what are the cons of teaching them to follow directions? There are cons to actually doing it. Following precise directions can actually stifle creativity, having an over emphasis on compliance and a strict focus on precise direction following can limit students opportunities to think creatively or explore alternative methods. Students might become risk averse, preferring to follow the exact instructions rather than experimenting or thinking outside the box.

Ellie 4:34

This risk averse person could definitely have been me as a student, I feel like I was so conditioned to follow directions and rules that I was afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing.

Brittany 4:46

I feel like that's me now.

Ellie 4:50

Yeah, me too.

Brittany 4:50

Sometimes following precise directions can reduce critical thinking. If students are always expected to follow directions without questioning, thinking, it may inhibit the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Ellie 5:05

Hmm, sounds like me. Again.

Brittany 5:09

Students might also become dependent on explicit instructions and struggle in situations that require independent decision making or out of the box thinking. Again, there is also potential for increased anxiety. Some students may develop anxiety around the need to perform tasks perfectly, leading to stress and a fear of making mistakes and creating a perfectionist child. The pressure to always get it right might overshadow the learning process, making students more focused on the outcome than on understanding the material.

Ellie 5:47

So I'm thinking I was definitely too focused on directions and following rules. These cons definitely applied to me as a kid, and maybe a little bit now too.

Brittany 6:00

Then there are limits on differentiated learning. The one size fits all precise directions may not cater to the diverse learning styles and needs of all students. Some may need more flexibility to process and understand instructions in a way that works for them. I don't feel like during our generation, when we were kids, they really cared about this kind of thing. But I know today, it is very important to have individualized instruction. And asking kids like my son to sit still and circle a cow in blue and underline a tree in green and spell orange in red and so on, would drive him bonkers. So balancing the need for precise direction following with opportunities for creativity, critical thinking and independent learning is really the key to fostering well rounded students.

Ellie 6:55

All right, that was good to think about. So now that we've got a handle on the pros and cons. Let's talk about some specific situations. The level of specificity you choose in giving directions should depend on the learning objective and the context of the lesson, both teaching precise actions like circling the cow with a blue pen and focusing on understanding complex terms like evaluate, synthesize, explain and analyze have their place in education. Specific directions are beneficial when we are skill building in the early stages of learning a new skill, or when precision is necessary, like math problems or science experiments. In those cases, specific directions can help students practice accuracy and attention to detail. Also when we are following instructions for younger students or those still developing their ability to follow multi step instructions, specific tasks like circle the cow with the blue pen can reinforce their listening and comprehension skills and specific directions are beneficial when we are testing understanding. Sometimes specific directions are used to test whether students are paying attention to the details or following instructions correctly, which can be an important skill in various academic and real world situations.

Brittany 8:21

So we always had teachers that would hand out a paper that said, you know, do XYZ, and there was questions one through 10, and then 10 always said, you know, do nothing and turn in your paper or whatever. Yeah. And then I think we always did it too as sixth grade teachers, and it was funny to watch the kids who would get up and moo or walk around the classroom or whatever, because they didn't read directions. But we had workbooks that were following direction skills that would literally be like, okay, circle the tree in green, right, orange, in red, you know? And we would do those like, once a week to try to work on their following direction skills. It was so hard, so hard. You might think that by like sixth, seventh grade kids know how to do it, but they don't. You need to work on it still. So focusing on higher order thinking is better when we are deep learning, teaching students to understand and apply terms like evaluate, synthesize and explain, focuses on a higher order thinking skills. These terms require students to engage in critical thinking, problem solving and analysis, which are essential for deep learning and comprehension when preparing for complex tasks, students have to progress through upper elementary and middle school, and they have to move beyond simply, further. Following directions to understanding those complex concepts and processes, learning to evaluate, synthesize and explain, prepares them for tasks that require independent thought and analysis, and knowing the difference between these words is crucial as well. When a question asks you to evaluate the characters decisions in chapter two of a novel that's very different than synthesizing the characters. When students grasp the meaning of these higher order terms, they become more capable of approaching tasks independently, understanding what is expected of them without needing overly specific instructions, and thus they become more independent learners.

So how do we balance those two approaches? First, we need to think about the context. Context is important. You might use specific directions when the task requires precision, as we mentioned, or when students are learning the basics, and then shift to teaching complex terms and concepts when the goal is to develop critical thinking and independent learning skills. You can scaffold learning. You can start with more specific directions and gradually move toward less explicit instructions as students become more comfortable and confident in their abilities, and you can think about assessing student readiness. Consider the readiness and developmental stage of your students. Younger or less experienced students may benefit from more specific directions, while older or more advanced students should be encouraged to tackle more abstract and complex tasks. In essence, both approaches are valuable, and the key is to use them strategically based on the learning goals and the needs of your students.

So how does following directions help students with their test taking skills? So that we're not teaching to the test, but are helping students learn how to take a test, how to follow directions, how to read prompts, how to analyze questions. Well, there are several ways test questions can come with specific guidelines, like word limits, formats, or the need to show work in math problems. By following these directions, students can avoid losing points for failing to meet the basic requirements of the question, so this can help them achieve a higher score. Following directions can help students manage time effectively during a test as well. Some tests are timed and knowing how to allocate your time to different sections or types of questions can make a significant difference for students. If students pay close attention to instructions, they can prioritize their test questions, such as answering all the easy questions first, or planning to spend extra time on sections that carry more weight. And this can prevent the common pitfall of spending too much time on one part of the test and leaving too little time for the other parts.

And that's a good idea to just practice some of those things. So because we might say, here's the direction, here's the strategy, but then if we don't take the time to practice it with them, then it's lost. So they we they do need to practice doing some of those things. Yes, a third way following directions helps students in test situations is that it can actually reduce stress and improve the overall test performance. When students clearly understand what is expected of them through understanding the directions, they can approach the test with greater confidence and focus, and this can reduce anxiety and help students feel more prepared and in control. So again, if you take time practicing different sets of directions - What the directions mean? How do you approach something if you're given these directions? - then that reduces their anxiety when they're in an actual testing situation. And as we mentioned earlier, practicing following directions can help develop organizational skills and attention to detail. These are beneficial in testing scenarios as well, but also in other academic and personal contexts. A fourth way following directions can be helpful for test taking situations is if directions for specific question types have been established and practiced outside of test time, kind of as I was alluding to earlier. For example, teachers often teach students how to break down a prompt by reading it multiple times, identifying key terms, identifying the parts of the prompt and then deconstructing it and discovering how best to answer it in a way that meets the requirements. The teacher has then taught the student to follow the directions, analyze them and respond to them in a productive way, all beneficial skills to know.

So as you think about teaching students skills related to following directions, remember the pros and the cons. Yes, we want to balance the need for precise direction following, but still give opportunities for creativity, critical thinking and independent learning. We hope this is a great set of tools for your teaching toolbox.

If you aren't already subscribed to the podcast, please hit follow or subscribe on your favorite platform so you never miss an episode. Those are some pretty specific directions, aren't they? Talk to you soon.

Bye.