Teacher Notes on Instruction-Writing Exercises

Exercise 2: How to make chili mac

Context for this case:

Prerequisites:
  • Flawed, scaffolded recipe.
  • Sample raw macaroni.

Cognitive Apprenticeship Features:
  • Externalizes the text revision process.
  • Simple but authentic.

Supporting References:
Relevant CA Content Standards  
Goal:
To show how flaws in instructions (violations of the instruction-writing guidelines) make those instructions less adequate, less helpful to readers, than they could be otherwise.
Strategy:
Introduce intentional flaws (guideline violations) into a simple kitchen recipe (for chili mac). Then add scaffolding (problem/solution cues) to call student attention to where each flaw falls while leaving open for discussion the guideline that was violated and possible solutions (improved alternative steps).

STUDENT VERSION:
Students can see the whole recipe (the overall framework of instructions) throughout the discussion of this exercise, to contextualize each flaw and each suggested solution. The problem cues minimize "guessing game" behavior in favor of focused problem solving (by applying previously presented guidelines).

ANNOTATED VERSION:
Since this is the first flawed recipe to be discussed, progressive disclosure of each problem (perhaps using large Post-it notes) is an effective way to guide class discussion and reinforce the usability guidelines. Sometimes (as in the "cooked macaroni" step) discovering one flaw (here, a hidden step) leads to discovering other, related flaws (wrong order, need to subdivide into more simple steps), yielding a good first look at how the seemingly separate guidelines really knit together closely.

REAL-LIFE REVISIONS:
In the science world beyond school, most of what scientists and engineers write gets revised, often repeatedly and sometimes extensively, before others rely on it. Students, however, tend to defer written assignments until the last minute, leaving little time or inclination to iteratively improve their first draft.

Some students don't revise because they really don't understand how to do it well. This exercise (and the others like it that follow) addresses that problem by externalizing text revision: the guidelines serve as a checklist of possible flaws to look for, and the scaffolding focuses the search for those flaws in each recipe. Effective revision stops being magic when you have a checklist of specific improvements and practice in trying them.

Some students, however, are able to revise their drafts but just don't bother, or they regard revision as a childish, school-only exercise. A look at authentic laboratory practice might motivate these students to make active self-revision a habit. Kalpana Shankar has published (August, 2007) a revealing ethnographic study of writing in an biology laboratory (Order From Chaos: The Poetics and Pragmatics of Scientific Recordkeeping. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 58(10):1457-1466, 2007). Researchers there kept a stack of yellow pads handy to "scrawl down where it's all going" as they worked, and a separate set of bound permanent blue record books. Explained one biologist to Shankar

...especially during an experiment [what I write] is extremely messy and difficult to read and if I went back to it myself many days later I'de probably have difficulty interpreting it. So I very shortly write it up into my main laboratory books...it's much clearer after that (p. 1461).
Hence, among these real-life scientists, careful scheduled text revision is in play even from the start to make usable research records emerge from bench-science activity.
Case:
Student version:
(2) How to make chili mac
                                         Problems/solutions:
1. Brown 1 lb. of ground beef
   -----
     |-----------------------------------PROBLEM:
                                         SOLUTION:

2. You can now add 1 16-oz. can----------PROBLEM:
   of tomatoes and 1 tsp. of             SOLUTION:
   chili powder

3. Add 4 oz. of cooked macaroni
                ------
                   |---------------------PROBLEM:
                                         SOLUTION:

4. Simmer for 15 minutes,
   stirring occasionally.
Annotated version:

1. Brown 1 lb. of ground beef
   -----
     |-----------------------------------PROBLEM: COMPLEX STEP
                                         SOLUTION:
                                         for new cooks, "brown" will need
                                         to be DIVIDED into SUBSTEPS
                                         (unwrap the meat,
                                         crumble into skillet,
                                         cook on high heat,
                                         stir until red disappears)

2. You can now add 1 16-oz. can----------PROBLEM: NO OVERT COMMAND
   of tomatoes and 1 tsp. of             SOLUTION: Add the following...
   chili powder                                     1 16-oz. can of tomatoes
                                                    1 tsp. chili powder

3. Add 4 oz. of cooked macaroni
                ------
                   |---------------------PROBLEM: cooked = HIDDEN STEP
                                         PROBLEM: WRONG FIRST TASK
                                         SOLUTION:
                                         FIRST step should be
                                         "cook 4 oz. of macaroni"
                                         (possible SUBSTEPS are:
                                          boil water,
                                          add 1 teaspoon of oil,
                                          add raw macaroni,
                                          boil until tender, 7 min.)

4. Simmer for 15 minutes,
   stirring occasionally.
Note:
This exercise most closely supports the following 1998 California English-Language Arts content standard(s).
Reading:
Grade 7--"Understand and explain the use of a simple mechanical device..." (p. 43).
Writing:
Grade 8--"Write technical documents...identify the sequence of activities needed to design a system, operate a tool..." (p. 51).

Contact: T. R. Girill trgirill@acm.org