The E from CODE

The Principle of Exercise and Elaboration. Giving students opportunities to elaborate on and practice
using new information keeps the working memory active and its experiences varied, thereby
facilitating the development of permanent memories. Heres how the New American Lecture
incorporates this principle.
The teacher stops every five minutes and poses a review question.
The teacher rotates questions to engage different styles of thinking:
Recalling and reviewing information (Mastery style)
Drawing conclusions and making inferences (Understanding style)
Imagining and asking What if? (Self-expressive style)
Exploring feelings and values (Interpersonal style)
Students apply their new learning to a synthesis task or comprehension test.

Mastery
questions emphasize recalling information:

Interpersonal
questions emphasize feelings, values, and
personal experiences

Summarize

In your own words, restate

what weve said.

Feelings

Which of these issues do you feel

strongest about? Why?

Prioritize

What were the two most

important points?

Which step in solving polynomial

Preferences equations is hardest? Which is
easiest? Why?

Remember

Turn your paper over and see

how much you can remember
from this part of the lecture.

Role play
or
empathize

Understanding
questions emphasize analysis and use of
evidence
Compare
and
contrast

What are the similarities and

differences between U.S.
attitudes toward the British in
1763 and in 1773?

Identify some possible causes

Hypothesize and effects for the information
on the organizer.

Support
with
evidence

Find information in your

organizer that proves or
disproves this statement

Suppose you are a student in Nazi

Germany. How would you react if a
friend had to wear a band declaring
his religion?

Self-Expressive
questions emphasize imagination

Metaphor

Create a metaphor for the

commutative property.

Symbols

Design a flag that stands for what

we know about Spanish explorers.

What if?

What would happen if Newtons

third law were false? Suppose
every reaction were double the
force of the original action.
Suppose it were half.

Another Version
Remember, Recall

summarize
retell
sequence

Reason

Relate

connect personally
evaluate
empathize

Recreate

compare &contrast
prove & disprove
cause & effect

suppositions, what if
make and explain metaphor
create, invent or design

Yet another version

PRACTICAL: Turn your paper over and write down as many causes of the
America Revolution that you can remember.
PERSONAL: Have you ever been in a situation where it was necessary to
have courage? What did it feel like? How were soldiers
involved in the American Revolution courageous?
ANALYTICAL: Look at the statement and either prove or disprove it. The
colonists were well prepared for war.
IMAGINATIVE: What might have happened if George Washington had not been made
general?

Sternbergs Triarchic Thinking

ANALYTICAL TASK PROMPTS:

Show the parts of ___ and how they work.

Explain why ___ works the way it does.
Diagram how ___ affects ___.
Identify the key parts of ___
Present a step-by-step approach to___.
Analyze/Evaluate/Assess ___.
Compare and contrast ___ for an audience of
___.
Justify/defend the position that ___.

PRACTICAL TASK PROMPTS:

CREATIVE TASK PROMPTS:

Demonstrate how someone uses ___ in his/her

life or work.
Show how we could apply ___ to solve this reallife problem: ___.
Based on your own experience, explain how___
can be used for ___.
Heres a problem at school: ___.
Using your knowledge of ___, develop a plan to
address the problem.
Apply or use this lesson in ___ to your life [or
this situation/context].

Find a new way to show ___

Use unusual materials to explain ___.
Use humor to show ___
Invent a new and better way to ___.
Make connections between ___ and ___ to help
___ understand ___.
Become a ___ and use your new perspectives
to help ___ think about ___.
Create a new ___.
Design an approach to/interpretation of ___.
Imagine what it would feel like to ___.