Strategic Instructional Model (SIM)

What kinds of results can students expect to achieve when taught SIM strategies?

The goal of the Strategic Instruction Model is to create independent, successful learners--that is, students who can effectively deal with the demands of the general education curriculum. Too frequently, programs aimed at at-risk learners are only geared to helping students "just get by." Before an instructional procedure is considered to be validated by our Center, the outcome that it produces must be found to be both statistically and socially significant. That is, the magnitude of gains must be sufficently large so as to move students who were previously receiving failing grades into the "C" range or better in standard school subjects.

Central to at-risk students becoming successful learners is the consistent application of sound instructional procedures. Our data have repeatedly shown that student performance markedly changes when teachers use explicit, direct instruction when training students to master a new learning strategy. For students to successfully generalize and maintain the use of a new strategy or skill, it is imperative that students be explicitly taught how to do so. If students are not brought to fluency in the use of a new strategy, the likelihood of them independently using that strategy is greatly diminished. Although the effective instruction of various learning strategies requires time, the pay-off is tremendous because students become capable of learning content information much more quickly and with significantly more confidence than before.

Anecdotal data strongly indicate that students who master several SIM-based strategies become good citizens within the classroom and school. Because they are finally being successful in school, they evidence fewer inappropriate behaviors and set meaningful goals relative to performing successfully in school and in post-secondary settings. Most importantly, as students become better learners, their confidence and willingness to work hard in a purposeful way increases.

Finally, in response to the issue of whether the SIM strategies can do what has been claimed about them, we offer the following response. All research conducted by the Center for Research on Learning has been critically reviewed by scientifc panels in the U.S. Department of Education and other federal and foundation funding agencies. Additionally, Center researchers have regularly presented their findings in the field's most prestigious scientific journals. Perhaps most importantly, however, is the fact that the Center has done no commercial advertising to promote SIM, yet in excess of 175,000 teachers in more than 3,500 school districts have sought out training in SIM. The number of requests continues to grow because of the successes experienced by classroom teachers in a host of settings throughout the world. It is because individual classroom teachers and clinicians find the instructional procedures to work well that the word about SIM spreads to others.

What effect has the use of SIM had on teachers?

Teachers have repeatedly indicated that their introduction to the Strategic Instruction Model has had a dramatic effect on their careers as classroom teachers. Some report that for the first time, they have been able to help students make significant gains in achievement. Others indicate that the layout and clarity of the SIM instructional materials provide them with a sense of confidence and guidance during the teaching process that enables the teacher to carefully monitor students' progress and to adjust instruction in a systematic way. Although the instructional packages provide a certain amount of structure, teachers are always reminded that these packages are to serve as "blueprints" only during the instructional process. It is clearly recognized that the teacher must have sufficient flexibility to make adjustments during instruction to repond to individual student learning styles and needs.

The SIM instructional materials and procedures provide teachers with a common language and data collection systems that greatly facilitate communication across teachers and settings. The scoring and data display procedures included in each of the instructional packages have been designed to be done relatively quickly by the classroom teachers (or even a paraprofessional). Students are taught to record their scores and chart their performance on graphs so they can see how their performance matches the goals that they set prior to a lesson. Hence, the packages have been designed to minimize the demands placed on teachers for doing excess paperwork, but they contain sufficient specificity to ensure that instruction is carefully monitored during each session so that both student and teacher know exactly what is happening and the types of adjustments that need to be made to reach mastery.

The SIM instructional materials and procedures can be very helpful tools for improving the quality of instruction provided by teachers. That is, in as much as they are grounded in validated learning principles, they can provide the basis from which teachers can set goals for improving the quality of their instruction in targeted areas.

How is SIM instruction most effectively provided?

All assessment done within SIM is curriculum-based. In as much as the major criterion for success is how students perform on tasks they are expected to master in the general education classroom, representative tasks from those settings comprise the pre- and post-assessment measures. These samples are very easy to administer and score and take relatively little time. The major emphasis of SIM is to optimize the time spent in instruction and to minimize assessment activities.

The strategies should be taught in a sequential order according to the demands students are expected to meet in the general education classroom. Student performance escalates significantly when students are taught a "critical mass" of related strategies. Although there isn't a definite scope and sequence of instruction that must be followed when teaching the strategies, there are some sequences that have been found to yield significantly better results than others in certain settings. Of course, a major factor that must be considered in the determination of any scope and sequence of instruction are the needs of the students. The optimal sequence for a given situation is one of the topics addressed during each SIM training session. Regardless of the sequence of instruction followed across strategies, it is imperative that the eight-stage instructional methodology be carefully followed within each strategy to ensure that students both master and generalize the strategy.

Strategies can be effectively taught to groups of students (from six to 12 students). Although the instructional demands on teachers are significantly less if the groups of students they are teaching are homogeneous, the reality is that most at-risk groups of students are quite heterogeneous. The instructional packages make suggestions for dealing with diverse groups. These issues also are covered during training sessions.

Typically, a SIM strategy can be taught to mastery in three or four weeks (about one hour of instruction per day). This time period varies, however, depending on learner characteristics, the particular strategy, and the skill of the teacher.

What types of training and supports are needed to successfully implement SIM strategies?

An effective program of staff development is essential to optimize fidelity of implementation by teachers as well as to achieve significant growth by students. Effective training of staffs proceeds in various phases. During the initial phase, it is important to have all training provided by certified members of the International Training Network. Not only do these trainers have in-depth knowledge of the targeted strategies, but they can effectively respond to the broad array of implementation questions and issues that surface during training sessions. After teachers have had an opportunity to implement numerous strategies at a high level of fidelity, a limited number of individuals who would have interest (and the time availability) could begin the process of becoming a SIM Trainer. Becoming a certified SIM Trainer usually requires about three years. During the training process, these potential trainers would be asked to serve in an apprenticeship role with seasoned SIM Trainers. Thus, over time, your organization could develop a cadre of trainers to serve the needs of your organization.

Typically, one strategy is taught during a training session (which lasts three to six hours). Teachers are then asked to return to their teaching assignment and implement the newly learned strategy. In subsequent sessions, they engage in debriefing and problem solving with their SIM Trainers. During the course of one academic year, approximately three strategies can be effectively mastered by a teacher.

Training sessions should not consist of more than 25 teachers. Each teacher would be expected to purchase (or have provided to them) the necessary instructor's manual and the attendant student materials. The average cost of an instructional manual is $15.

Given the decline in the availability of resource rooms as a venue for teaching Learning Strategies, what alternatives can be considered by teachers?

First of all, educators need to think about the types of instructional conditions that are necessary for students to become good learners. They should not necessarily focus so much on place or where the services for students are delivered. The important question becomes what kinds of things need to be happening instructionally for students to become good learners. The key is for students to receive intensive, well-managed instruction. Sometimes, that can occur in the general education classroom; but often times, it simply can't. As teachers, we can best make our case for finding alternative service delivery mechanisms if we specifically identify what needs to occur in the learning process. Most importantly, at-risk students need multiple opportunities for practicing the strategies as well as for receiving individual feedback on their performance.

If these and other instructional elements--such as modeling, scaffolding instruction, and demanding mastery--are in place, at-risk students will successfully learn strategies. Thus, the task becomes creating an instructional environment where these instructional elements can be implemented.

What will happen if there isn't a balance between the implementation of Learning Strategies and Content Enhancement within a school?

Given what's happening in schools today, is strategic instruction becoming obsolete?

No, as a matter of fact, it is not.

Due to content explosion--the significant amount of information being added to world knowledge on a daily basis--teachers will not be able to continue to try to teach all of the content related to their subject areas. The only viable solution for them is to teach students how to access, think critically about, and manipulate information on their own so that students can be lifelong learners who access any information they need.

That's where strategy instruction comes in. Strategy instruction is the only instructional method that has been shown through research to enable students with disabilities and other at-risk students to meet the complex learning demands of secondary and post-secondary schools.

Through strategy instruction, they become able to find, study, and express information independently.

Another educational trend in this country, which is somewhat contrary to the emphasis on content coverage, is an emphasis on critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Increasingly, state competency exams are starting to include tasks that are more authentic. This shift will require schools to spend more time teaching students strategies to improve their ability to do well on these thinking tasks. Again, strategic instruction is one of the few instructional methods that has been shown to improve at-risk students' thinking skills. Thus, it will be a very important part of any school's program.

Why is process as important as content?

The demands that students encounter in school as well as nonschool settings require them to have a solid background in key content areas as well as an ability to process information fluently.

We all know that the nature of the workplace is changing, markedly. Jeremy Rifkin, for example, in his book "The End of Work," indicates that several job areas will be eliminated because of the technology explosion. Other jobs will be transformed very quickly, and only a minority of individuals will have job stability, defined as working in one job with one company for an extended period of time. Some futurists have estimated that students graduating from school in the 1990s will have as many as four separate careers throughout the course of their working lives. Under these circumstances, the only individuals who will be able to survive in that type of working environment will be those who have the capacity of knowing how to learn, who can readily shift from one job situation to another.

Of course, successful transitions across jobs and careers are dependent on individuals being good learners--having the ability to learn the necessary information required for successful performance in a new area relatively quickly.

Hence, having lots of background information or content and knowing how to learn or the process of learning will both be vitally important in the future.

How can strategic instruction be used in our school to help students meet important academic standards?

One of the keys to preparing students to successfully meet academic standards is to expose them to a well-designed scope and sequence of strategy instruction.

Teaching Routines

The teaching routines described below have been successfully field-tested in general education classrooms characterized by significant academic diversity. Students judged to be at-risk for academic school failure were in each class; all of the routines were field-tested in classes that contained students judged to have learning disabilities. The research took place in public schools, primarily in middle and high school settings, and the routines were field-tested by teachers. Research has demonstrated that consistent and explicit instruction and use of each routine is a key ingredient for instructional success.

The routines were designed for use during group instruction to help a teacher provide instruction more sensitive to the learning needs of individuals in the group. A combination of instructional models involving general education teachers and special education teachers, individually and collaboratively, have been successfully tested. All of the routines are taught using a standard set of instructional procedures. These procedures define the necessary instructional conditions needed regardless of where the routine is used.

Unit Organizer Routine is used to plan units and then introduce and maintain the big ideas in units and show how units, critical information and concepts are related. Research results showed that when the teachers used the Unit Organizer Routine, understanding and rrretention of the information by low-achieving students, students with learning disabilities, and average-achieving students improved substantially over baseline as reflected in unit test scores and in scores on unit content maps and explanations of these maps. The students of teachers who used the Unit Organizer Routine regularly and consistently scored an average of 15 percentage points higher on unit tests than students of teachers who used it only irregularly.

Lesson Orgnizer Routine is used to plan lessons and then introduce and connect ideas to the unit and the course. Research has shown that regular, explicit, and flexible use of the lesson organizer routine by secondary classroom teachers can have a significant influence on student learning. Studies showed that use of the routine increased student learning and performance. Research results showed that the students of teachers who used the Lesson Organizer Routine regularly and consistently scored an average of 15 percentage points higher on unit tests than students of teachers who used it irregularly.

Framing Routine (FRAME) is used to transform abstract main ideas and key topics into a concrete representation that helps students think and talk about the key topic and essential related information. Research results have consistently demonstrated that the routine can effectively facilitate subject-matter learning as well as the development of literacy and thinking skills. In a study focusing on written products of 35 eighth grade students, the students who were taught with the Framing Routine wrote an average of 102 words more per product than did the students who were in the comparison group..

covered in 2007 Summer Institute

Survey Routine provides an overview of a reading assignment when students are having difficulty reading and sorting out information from inconsiderate text. Research has shown that students with LD and other low-achieving students as well as average and high achieving students correctly answered an average of 10% to 15% more of their test questions when the Survey Routine has been used with the students than when the Survey Routine was not used.

Concept Comparison Routine is used to help students compare and contrast key concepts. Research with students enrolled in general secondary science and social studies classes showed that students correctly answered substantially more test questions related to information that had been presented through the use of the routine than test questions related to information presented using traditional teaching methods. Students with LD and other low-achieving students correctly answered an average of 71.2% (LD) and 86.4% (NLD) respectively of the test questions associated with information presented through the use of the routine, compared to 56.7% (LD) and 62.6% (NLD) of the questions associated with information presented through traditional means. The experimental study involved 107 students.

Concept Mastery Routine is used to define, summarize, and explain a major concept and where it fits within a larger body of knowledge. Research shows that the secondary teacher use of the routine causes the student to benefit in several ways. First, students scored significantly better on tests designed to assess concept acquisition. Second, students scored significantly better on regularly scheduled, teacher-made or commercial unit tests during the enhancement condition than during baseline. Gains by students with LD (from a mean score of 60% to 71%) were comparable to those of their NLD peers (from a mean score of 72% to 87%) on these regular tests. The percentage of students with LD who passed increased from 57% to 75%; the percentage of NLD students who passed increased from 68% to 97%. Third, the students took better notes during the enhancement condition than before using the routine.

Question Exploration Routine is a package of instructional methods that teachers can use to help a diverse student population understand a body of content information by carefully answering a critical question to arrive at a main idea answer. Research results showed students who were taught a lesson using the Question Exploration Routine earned an average test score of 70% while students who were taught the lesson with traditional methods scored an average of 48%.

Recall Enhancement Routine focuses on procedures teachers can use to help students remember information. Performance of the students in a post-test only comparison group study indicated that the performance of students was related to the teachers use of the routine. Students with or without disabilities in the classes of teachers who used the routine performed significantly better on test items that could best be addressed through the creation of the types of Recall Devices that their teachers had presented than did the students in the comparison classes. The recall performance of both the LD and the NLD students in the experimental group was higher by 29.10 and 20.5 points, respectively than the performance of similar students in the control group on reviewed facts.

Vocabulary LINCing Routine is designed to facilitate student use of two powerful tools, an auditory memory device and a visual memory device that will help them learn and remember the meaning of complex terms. Research results showed that students including those with LD improved their performance by an average of 19 percentage points on vocabulary tests..

covered in 2007 Summer Institute

Learning Strategies

The learning strategies listed here have been successfully field-tested with students judged to be at-risk for academic school failure; additionally, all of the strategies have been field-tested with students judged to have learning disabilities. The research took place in public schools, primarily in middle and high school settings, and the strategies were field-tested by teachers. Research has demonstrated that consistent, intensive explicit instruction and support are key ingredients for instructional success. A combination of instructional models involving general education teachers and special education teachers, individually and collaboratively, has been successfully tested. All of the strategies are taught using a standard set of instructional procedures. These procedures define the necessary instructional conditions needed regardless of where the instruction occurs.

Reading Strategies

The Word Identification Strategy used in SIM was developed by Lenz and Hughes (1990) and initially tested on 12 middle school students with learning disabilities. This strategy is intended to help struggling readers decode and identify unfamiliar words, and is based on the common underlying structure of most polysyllabic words in English. Most of these words can be pronounced by identifying the components of the words (prefixes, suffixes, and stems) and then applying three syllabication rules to the stem word. In this approach, prefixes and suffixes are loosely defined as recognizable groups of letters that the student can pronounce.

As described by Lenz and Hughes (1990), there are seven steps to identifying an unknown word. The steps are remembered using the first-letter mnemonic, DISSECT:

Step 1: Discover the context. This step requires the student to skip over the unknown word and read to the end of the sentence. Then, the student uses the apparent meaning of the sentence to guess what word might best fit. If the guess does not match the unknown word, the student moves on to the next step.

Step 2: Isolate the prefix. In this step, students look for a pronounceable sequence of letters at the beginning of the word. Students are taught a list of prefixes to facilitate recognition. If a prefix is identified, the student draws a box around it to separate it visually from the rest of the word (for example, in the word inactivity, the "in" would be boxed; in underachievement, the "under" would be boxed).

Step 3: Separate the suffix. Using a procedure similar to Step 2, the student boxes off the suffix, if there is one (in the word inactivity, the "ity" would be boxed; in underachievement, the "ment" would be boxed).

Step 4: Say the stem. The student attempts to pronounce the stem (activ, achieve). If the stem cannot be named, the student moves on to Step 5.

Step 5: Examine the stem. In this step, the student divides the stem into small, pronounceable word parts, using the Rules of Twos and Threes (Lenz & Hughes, 1990, p. 151). The rules can be summarized as follows:

Rule 1: If the stem or part of the stem begins with a vowel, separate the first two letters; if it begins with a consonant, separate first three letters; continue to apply this rule until the end of the stem is reached (ac\tiv, ac\hie\ve).
Rule 2: If you cant make sense of the stem after using Rule 1, take off the first letter of the stem and use Rule 1 for the remainder of the stem (a\chi\ev\e).
Rule 3: When two vowels are together, use what you know about pronunciation (for example, pronounce two adjacent vowels as a single sound, and remember that a final e following a consonant is usually silent) and try the different possibilities (a\chiv, a\chev).

Step 6: Check with someone. The student checks with a teacher, parent, or other person.

Step 7: Try the dictionary. The student looks up the word, uses pronunciation information to pronounce the word, and, if the word is unfamiliar, reads the definition.

Lenz and Hughes (1990) recommend that the strategy be fully employed only for those words that are most critical to understanding a passage of text, such as a word in a chapter heading. Bryant, Vaughn, Linan-Thompson, Ugel, Hamff, & Hougen (2000) note that this strategy works best when the word being analyzed is one that is already in the students listening vocabulary.

The Test-Taking Strategy, researched and developed by The University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning provides a sample strategy to improve student performance on classroom tests. Its design includes a six-fold purpose:

1. Students will allocate time and order to each section of the test.
2. Students will read and focus on the instructions.
3. Students will either answer or abandon each test question.
4. Students will make informed choices (Guesses) on the questions they dont know.
5. Students will feel in control of the test and self-talk and test-wiseness can help.
6. Students will utilize any and all of their study strategies as they take the test.

An integral part of this strategy is the active role the students take while engaging in the test. It is empowering for students who are test-phobic and/or low achieving. Teaching students a strategy to pass classroom tests is very powerful since passing the course relies on it. Many students feel passing a test is out of their hands and there is nothing they can do. Their fears can be calmed and confidence boosted as they see significant gains in their test scores. Quick and obvious gains can be expected as students learn this strategy.

This strategy (and every strategy and routine from CRL) has a set of linking steps represented by a mnemonic. The mnemonic for the Test-Taking Strategy is PIRATES. Students are encouraged to visualize a pirate who gets aboard a ship, goes for all the gold and quickly leaves. The same should be true for them when they enter a testing situation; go into the test, get all the possible points and exit! Below are listed the steps of the strategy and what they are all about.

Step 1: Prepare to succeed: Students begin taking the test using the steps PASS:

P: Put your name and PIRATES on the test,
A: Allot time and order to the sections of the test,
S: Say your affirmations and
S: Start within two minutes

Step 2: Inspect the instructions: Students are taught to use the steps RUN:

R: Read the instructions,
U: Underline what to do and where to do it,
N: Note any special requirements.

Step 3: Read, Remember, Reduce: In this step they begin to answer the questions using the techniques of

READ the whole question,
REMEMBER what youve studied, and
REDUCE your choices, marking out the choices that you know arent applicable.

Step 4: Answer or Abandon: Students have a choice to either answer the question or abandon it to make the best use of time. If they abandon it they must place a mark next to it to indicate theyll come back to it. They recycle through this step answering everything they know on the test and then turning back to the ones they are unsure of.

Step 5: Turn Back: When they get to the end of the test they turn back to those abandoned questions using the ACE guessing techniques described below.

Step 6: Estimate: Using the ACE guessing techniques students follow the sequence of:

Avoiding absolute words,
Choosing the longest and most detailed answer and
Eliminating similar choices.

Step 7: Survey: Now that they have completed all the steps the student must look over the test one more time to survey if they have answered all the abandoned questions and only change an answer if they are positively sure it is right. Usually their first choice is the correct one.

This strategy is taught to students using the SIM model (Strategic Instructional Model) which is based on good and sound teaching practices. The model begins with a pretest to determine what strategies, if any, students use when taking tests, and gain their commitment to learn it. Then the teacher describes each step of the strategy to them, models how it would look when they would use it and the student in turn verbalizes each step to 100% accuracy. They are then given controlled practice tests to use the strategy before you move them into their own classroom tests. It is your intention for them to generalize this strategy on not only your tests, but all other classroom tests in the future.

In this series, the general goal is to create safe and supportive learning environments for students with disabilities in inclusive classes. This is done through teaching students about concepts such as respect and tolerance and providing each student a partner who can provide support during the learning process.

• Following Instructions Together is designed to teach students concepts and strategies associated with following instructions effectively.
• Organizing Together is a program that can be used to provide instruction in some basic strategies associated with keeping notebooks, schedules/calendars, desks, lockers/cubbies, and backpacks organized.
• Taking Notes Together is a program that can be used to teach students a simple strategy for taking notes in response to a variety of stimuli, including lectures, demonstrations, movies/videotapes, and reading assignments
• Talking Together is an instructional program designed for introducing the concept of learning community to students and for teaching them how to participate respectfully in class discussions

SIM and its Potential Impact On AUSD

SIM and Students

SIM fosters a learning evironment where student can be fully engaged in productive academic work. SIM routines and strategies allow the teacher and students to co-construct the meaning and revelance of the instructional content being delivered. Along with a rich array of reading materials, teachers can "hook" students to become active participants in their learning process.

SIM and Teachers

SIM Resources