The 23 Artisan Themes

Themes that describe the technical work of teaching.

Clear Learning Goals. The ability of the teacher to identify and precisely express what students will know and be able to do as a result of a lesson.

Congruency. The ability of the teacher to design classroom activities that are accurately matched to clear learning goals.

Task Analysis. The ability of the teacher to identify and sequence all the essential steps necessary for mastery of a learning goal.

Diagnosis. The ability of the teacher to verify what students already know and can do for the purpose of determining where to begin instruction. .

Overt Responses. The ability of the teacher to regularly obtain evidence of student learning for the purpose of determining next steps for teaching/learning.

Mid-Course Corrections. The ability of the teacher to quickly adapt instruction to meet learning needs based on overt student responses.

Themes that describe the scientific aspects of teaching.

Conscious Attention. The ability of the teacher to gain and then focus students’ attention on a relevant learning activity.

Chunking. The ability of the teacher to segment the curriculum and learning activities into manageable portions to avoid working memory overload.

Connection. The ability of the teacher to establish a mental link between the intended learning and past learning or experiences.

Practice. The ability of the teacher to improve recall and application of learning through effective rehearsal, repeated effort, drill, repetition, study, and review

Personal Relevance. The ability of the teacher to embed the intended curriculum into issues and contexts that are linked to students’ survival or immediate well being.

Locale Memory. The ability of the teacher to enhance learning by organizing information around the learner’s position or “locale” in three-dimensional space.

Mental Models. The ability of the teacher to create a structure for learning using images, models, sensory experiences, symbol systems, and creative processing methodologies.

First Time Learning. The ability of the teacher to capitalize on the brain’s tendency to attend to, process deeply, and recall information that is presented as new, original, or as an initial experience.

Neural Downshifting. The ability of the teacher to reduce stress and threat in the classroom environment to avoid “survival mode” thinking and to increase higher order thinking.

Enriched Environments. The ability of the teacher to shape the physical and social environment of the classroom to enhance learning.

Success. The ability of the teacher to increase and sustain student effort by designing and adapting learning tasks to ensure that students experience success.

Performance Feedback. The ability of the teacher to increase students’ persistence at a task by providing knowledge of results regarding students’ work.

Themes that describe the artistic nature of teaching.

Stagecraft. The ability of the teacher to enhance, deepen, or prolong student engagement by utilizing a theatrical treatment.

Complementary Elements. The ability of the teacher to sequence instructional experiences that build on the preceding and set the stage for the subsequent.

Time and Timing. The ability of the teacher to strategically manage the duration of learning activities and the intervals between instructional elements in order to optimize learning.

Personal Presence. The ability of the teacher to become a person of significance in the lives of students and to use this position to enhance student engagement.

Delight. The ability of the teacher to create instances of learning that are extra-memorable by designing a “positive surprise”- something that is exceptionally pleasing and unexpected.