What Good Is Facts Check, Anyway?

What Good Is "Facts Check," Anyway?

Glad you asked:

Kids Learn!

Action research and teacher experience indicate that whenever and wherever the Facts Check process is properly implemented:

Students actually learn and retain the declarative content included in the Facts.
Students actually learn and understand the procedural and conceptual content related to the Facts.
Students learn to feel empowered and responsible for their achievement
Students develop enthusiasm for learning.
Teachers spend no more time--and sometimes less time--teaching and assessing.

Bottom Line:

Better Results, Less Work

Okay, Okay. If this is so good, then why haven't I already heard about it?

In today's overheated environment, effective methods get lost in the chaotic soup of ideas being pushed by special interests, politicians, and well-meaning educators. That's why District 108 has focused on identifying "Best Practices," proven by research and experience to be effective. Facts Check is a Best Practice.

I don't get why Facts Check should be of any use. Why is it supposed to work?

Facts Check is an effective instructional (not assessment) method supported by well researched theory. Before presenting why it works, you need some background. Briefly, here goes:

Background: What Is Learning?

Theoreticians and researchers make their living by "one-upping" their colleagues, and so answers to this question can range far and wide--and they have done so. Still, across recent years, all have boiled down to a few well-supported concepts. For our purposes we will limit ourselves to three types of "knowing":

Declarative Knowledge is anything stored in memory by rote. It is limited or devoid of understanding and meaning. Examples for most people include the Pledge of Allegiance, vocabulary terms, definitions, catechism, math facts, and anything else that it is possible for an individual to recite without understanding.

Conceptual Knowledge is the combination of declarative knowledge and experience. It is the name theorists give to what happens when an individual truly "understands" the the Pledge of Allegiance, vocabulary terms, definitions, catechism, math facts, or anything else that the individual may otherwise recite without understanding

Procedural Knowledge is the combination of either declarative or conceptual knowledge with the ability to put it into action.

Nowadays, all the theories of learning agree on the existence and interrelatedness of these three "ways of knowing." They really do exist, and they really do interact whenever humans learn.

Need an example?

OK, consider the term, "PDSA."

Type of Knowledge	Possible Evidence
Declarative	I have heard of PDSA. I know that PDSA stands for "Plan-Do-Study-Act." I know that PDSA is a technique used for continuous improvement.
Conceptual	I have participated in PDSA. Along with a leader and other participants, I did all the PDSA steps, completed the quality tools needed for the project, and helped decide whether or not the improvement theory was supported by the data.
Procedural	I can do a PDSA independently. I can lead my students through a PDSA to improve something about our classroom. I can help other adults use PDSA.

NOTE: While declarativeknowledge often exists alone, full mastery of higher order thinking (conceptual and procedural) requires a connection between declarative knowledge and experience.