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1 INTRODUCTION
Madeline Hunter had a tremendous influence in education by basically re-defining what
teaching was. Her model gave teachers different strategies to help control their classrooms and
their lessons and quickly became one of the most influential models in educational history.
During the height of her popularity, Hunter's Model for mastery teaching was formally adopted
in sixteen states and widely used by many others. Hunter is regarded by many as a "teacher's
teacher" for her ability to translate educational and psychological
theory into practical, easy-to-understand pedagogy,
and her influence on classroom teaching
techniques is still evident in the twenty-first century.
The following excerpt from Stateuniversity.com help us understand
how Madeline defined the 3 realms of teaching:
Hunter defined teaching as a series of decisions that take place in three realms: content,
learning behaviors of students, and teacher behaviors. Content refers to the specific
information, skill, or process that is appropriate for students at a particular time. Content
decisions are based upon students' prior knowledge and how it relates to future instruction;
simple understandings must precede more complex understandings. Decisions regarding
learning behaviors indicate how a student will learn and show evidence of that learning.
Because there is no best way for all students to learn, a variety of learning behaviors is usually
more effective than one. Evidence of learning must be perceivable by the teacher to ensure that
learning has occurred. The third area of decision-making, teacher behavior, refers to the use of
principles of learningvalidated by researchthat enhance student achievement.
Before we can answer the question of whether Madeline Hunters Lesson Plan Structure
(LPS) is a unique instructional-design theory that is effective in the situations it is employed, we
need to follow Reigeluths (1999) Instructional-Design Theory Analysis framework to dissect the
model and determine if it has the characteristics of an instructional design theory. The next
section of this paper contains our analysis of Madeline Hunters LPS model.
2.2 PRE-CONDITIONS
In order to guarantee the goals of the model, learners should be able to sustain attention while
content is being presented, in addition they should comply with the teachers prompts to stay ontask. It is also assumed that learners would not present with problem behaviors that would
impede their learning and the learning of others around. Another aspect of the learners
disposition involves the ability to be intrinsically motivated by the nature of instruction.
Madeline Hunters LPS helps in drill practice exercises, i.e. learning multiplication facts,
factorization, handwriting, etc. This model is appropriate in situations that require extensive
repetition practice in order to achieve mastery of skills. It would not, however, be appropriate
for open-ended learning experiences, discovery learning sessions, or exploratory educational
experiences requiring divergent skills. It is also not appropriate for facilitating creative solving
scenarios or higher level thinking activities. In short, this model works best for concrete learning
situations rather than abstract conceptualization or high-order level thinking sessions.
2.3 METHODS
This theory has
specific methods that
are directly related to
the intended goals i.e.,
increasing learning
retention through
repetition. The
methods or steps that
were identified are1. Objective and
purpose
2. Anticipatory set
3. Input or
presentation
4. Modeling
5. Checking for
understanding
6. Guided practice
4 | Madeline Hunters Lesson Plan Structure
7. Closure
Following are brief descriptions of each one of the methods within Madeline Hunters LPS.
2.3.1 Objective and purpose
The objective and/or purpose of the lesson is very narrow in focus. It should be neither too easy
nor too difficult for learners however still challenging. The objective is clear for each lesson,
and is based on content standards; both teachers and learners are clear on what is to be learned
and operate based on the same expectations (what is to be achieved in the lesson). At this time
the teacher should consider the audience as well as what they should be able to accomplish as a
result of this lesson.
2.3.2 Anticipatory Set (orientation)
This is an introduction to the lessons topic, it could be viewed as an opening activity that sets
the stage for the actual lesson. The anticipatory set captures students attention and gets them
ready to participate. Teachers can initiate this by asking questions that tap into learners prior
experiences and are segues for the upcoming lesson topic.
2.3.3 Input or presentation
During this phase, new information is delivered and by the teacher. The presentation of material
should be engaging and thoughtful consideration should be given to the needs of the learners
(developmental, language, vocabulary). It is desirable that new learning is chunked and
customized to the learners level of understanding. The stage summarizes what the student need
to know in order to master the lesson. This is more or less a list of steps the teacher will follow
to present the materials. You can provide this information (or knowledge needed to develop a
skill) through lecture, film, tape, video, pictures, demonstrations, etc. This section is often
prepared as an outline.
2.3.4 Modeling
During modeling, the teacher demonstrates the skills to be learned, while learners hear, and see
what they are supposed to imitate. This activity could overlap with the input phase, and it is
important for teachers to provide good examples, so learners can have a better understanding of
what they need to emulate. For example, the teacher might work a new problem on the board
showing how to fractions, commenting on each step. Or the teacher might show a slide with a
number of ovals and then label the various intersections as an example of using Venn diagrams.
2.3.5 Checking for understanding
Teachers constantly monitor by analyzing learners responses which could be given verbally or
written. At this point teachers have the opportunity to determine who is struggling with
instruction, in order to adjust, or re-teach the skill. This section determines whether students have
got it before you proceed. It is essential that students practice doing it right so that you know
that students understand before proceeding to practice.
The methods are based on behaviorism learning theory, since the model promotes errorless
teaching, operant conditioning, over-correction and repetition. We also found that the
model/theory advances ideas posited by Jerome Bruner, specifically regarding the concept of
spiral curriculum, i.e., revisiting basic ideas, building on them until the student had grasped the
full formal concept.
Support is given to learners when the teacher checks for understanding, by continually
monitoring learning. The teacher might ask questions, ask the learners to explain concepts,
check written responses, or observe behaviors. In the event that there is confusion, the teacher
can go back to the input phase and either re-teach the concept or provide further clarification.
They key is for the learners to have a correct notion of the skill rather than ill-formed ideas or
incomplete understanding. By chunking information into smaller bits, teachers can scaffold
learning. Scaffolding can occur during the input or modeling phases.
It is worth noting that Madeline Hunter suggested that teachers use a structured framework for
teaching lessons; she valued the freedom teachers have in making their own decisions about their
instructional practices.
2.5 CONCLUSIONS
According to Reigeluth (1999), an instructional-design theory is a theory that offers explicit
guidance on how to better help people learn and develop. By this definition, Madeline
Hunters Lesson Plan Structure model/theory, is in our estimation an instructional-design
theory because it offers specific prescriptions to increase learner retention.
Reigeluth (1999), also postulates that the major characteristics that all instructional-design
theories have in common are:
1. The instructional-design theory is design oriented (focusing on means to attain goals)
2. The instructional identifies methods of instruction (ways to support instruction)
3. In all instructional-design theories the methods of instruction can be broken into more
detailed component methods
4. Methods are probabilistic rather than deterministic (they increase the chances of attaining
the goals rather than ensuring attainment of the goals
Having analyzed Madeline Hunters LPS using Reigeluths framework, we conclude that it
meets criteria and it has the characteristics of an instructional-design theory. However, whether
Madeline Hunters LPS theory is, in fact, a unique instructional-design theory is suspect, because
increasing learner retention by way of repetition may just be imitation of skills rather than actual
learning.
Madeline Hunters LPS theory has had its share of criticism, for example Gibboney (1987),
refers to it as a mechanistic and simplistic model that does not improve the quality of
education because it stifles teacher and student thinking. From Gibboneys perspective, this
theory is nonintellectual as it promotes passivity in both students and teachers. He further
asserts that Hunter has not produced the research evidence to support her claim for improved
7 | Madeline Hunters Lesson Plan Structure
learning. Even some of her admirers including Slavin (1989), have criticized Madeline
Hunters theory for its lack of evidence of effectiveness.
While we agree that the LPS theory might be useful in situations requiring high levels of
repetition (drill practice), it would not be appropriate to implement it in more high-order level
thinking types of instruction such as creative writing, science exploration, or activities that
require metacognition or cognitive strategy development.
In conclusion, as a response to the question: Is Madeline Hunters lesson plan structure (LPS) a
unique instructional-design theory that is effective in the situations it is employed? we found
that while the LPS could be considered an instructional-design theory, it is NOT, however,
unique since it is modeled after structured teaching methodologies, rather than being innovative
or distinctive. Further, the theory (LPS) might be effective ONLY in situations wherein the main
onus of instruction is having the learner imitate the teachers examples via drill
practice/repetition in order to attain mastery of skills.
References
Reigeluth, Charles M. "Functional Contextualism: An Ideal Framework for Theory in Instructional
Design and Technology." Educational Technology Research and Development 54.1 (2006): 4953. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Madeline Cheek Hunter (19161994)." - Teaching, Teacher, Student, and Students. N.p., n.d.
Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
Hunter, Madeline. "Madeline Hunter in the English Classroom." The English Journal 78.5 (1989): 1618. Madeline Hunter's Lesson Plan. Web.