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Complex Instruction

This strategy was developed by Elizabeth Cohen at Stanford University. Cohen has been researching this strategy for over ten years and has found positive achievement benefits when the strategy is used properly.

Complex Instruction

· Addresses students' varied levels of readiness, interests, learning profiles and talents
· Broadly useful across grades and subjects
· Based on the assumption that each student in the class has intellectual strengths to bring to a task
· Centers on tasks the require the intellectual skills of each student in the group to ensure success
· Helps students learn and appreciate the unique contributions each learner brings to their common work
· Is intentionally complex
· Focuses on a high level of thinking (per Bloom's Taxonomy)
· Is Multimodal
· Is Problem-oriented
· Is Open-ended
· Is Collaborative, not competitive

The strategy is designed to maximize the benefits of peer collaboration and minimize the negatives in the context of meaningful work.

Effective complex instruction assignments would typically have the following characteristics:

· Students are group heterogeneously
· The teacher plans tasks with specific students' strengths in mind.
· Tasks are rich (high-level, interesting, challenging and open-ended.
· Tasks call on varied intellectual strengths, interests, talents and learning profiles.
· Tasks call for reading and writing meaningful text.
· There is support for English Language Learners.
· The teacher coaches as students work.
· The teacher and task help students learn to assume greater responsibility for their learning.

Some examples of Complex Instruction include Monument or Memorial to the Civil War, "The Road Not Taken" as a metaphor for the life of Robert Frost, and a Group Scenario that reflects realistic events, conditions, beliefs and actions of a group or individual from Ancient Greece.

If you want to see a successful application of this strategy, ask to borrow the ASCD video, Complex Instruction from the Curriculum office. Phone, 508- 347-9704