The Target Effect
My wonderful wife once got lost in Target. Like... for real for real lost.
She innocently went in to get some gum.
Gum, as most of us know, can be found in the checkout lines at most grocery stores for your convenience. As in, it should have been a quick in-and-out operation.
Because of this fact, I offered to stay in the car and wait for her while I totally dominated level 894 of Candy Crush. After my five lives were up and I asked my FaceBook friends for help I looked up. What seemed to be about 4 hours had passed, but there was no wife. I started wondering if I should call the police and file a missing person's report.
Soon thereafter, my wife came out with half a shopping cart full of "stuff" with a "I dare you to say something" look on her face. I did not say a word.
Because of this event (and many like it), I got curious and searched the Google-inter-webs to see if this occurrence was a nationwide spousal issue, a genius marketing hypnosis ploy, or just my wife's very cute but very real DTMATS (Decreased Time and Money Awareness at Target Syndrome).
You see... Just like how grocery stores place those impulse-buy products near the register in order for you to see them at the last second and think "I need and can afford this $2 (candy, lighter, soda pop, etc)", Target has a hyper-focus on it's adult consumer experience. Their stores are tech centered, bright, clean, organized, and well stocked.
So getting hypnotized and distracted is understandable and almost fated no matter how strong willed you are!
To get through a Target store and reach your GOAL without giving into distractions takes strength of character, skills, and a plan. But fret not, Target is organized in such a way that you can use their subversive powers AGAINST them.
The key to getting into and out of a Target in a timely manner is creating a PATHWAY map, at least mentally.
I know... keep laughing.
Creating a map with a pathway to get you into and out of that place while reaching your purchasing goal helps save time, money, and something I like to call marital energy.
Constructing pathways in a Blended Learning lesson is much like constructing a strategy for a Target "run". In both cases, you must organize experiences so no one gets "LOST" in sections they don't need to be in.
Getting Started With Pathways:A great first step is to pull out a trusted and loved lesson plan and actually make a physical flowchart. What happens first? What is the teacher doing? What are the standards? Which question stems are being used? But most importantly, is every student doing the same thing at the same time?
If your lesson is too linear (ie. only a single pathway for your students to follow & they're all doing the same thing at the same time), try to find a spot in your lesson where you can offer students a choice in how they do the work, learn the content, or express their learning. Voila! Just with these additions you have created three different pathways! Next, add those different paths to your drawn out flow chart. If need be, use a game like Chutes and Ladders or Life as your mental (or actual) template. Whatever you do, create multiple paths for your students as they make their way through the content. Don't let them suffer from the Target Effect. Don't let them get distracted by unnecessary facts, activities, lectures, etc. if they don't actually NEED them.
How?
Consider the following:
- Your higher level kids may already know much of the information in a lesson so don't let them get lost in a pointless lecture... give them something else to build upon. Challenge them either with differentiation in CONTENT, PRODUCT, or PROCESS. Not all three, necessarily. Heck, let them choose which one to differentiate!
- Your low or ESL students may need more videos and images to more easily fill in their gaps in knowledge. So give them teacher made or Khan Academy made videos. Expose these students to images or visuals. Maybe even have these students express themselves in a medium that speaks to them.
- Your GT kids may need and want more challenging tasks or more open ended tasks. They'll certainly get distracted by low level expectations, so don't be afraid to raise the bar using tools like Sandra Kaplan's Depth and Complexity sheet.
Construct the learning experiences for each of the groups in a way that they won't want to wonder away from their sections. You could begin constructing pathways by surveying your students past experiences with that particular content. Make those gaps visible somehow and then build around them. Further, get to know their learning styles, not just their favorite summer memory. Get to know them as learners and you will, in fact, get to know them in a deep way.
Your role, after your pathways are constructed, will be to facilitate the learning instead of pushing the kids to learn.
If your students only need to get "gum" in an upcoming lesson, don't make them go through the clothing and house keeping sections. They'll get bored, pull out their phones, and become discipline issues.
Fight the Target Effect in the classroom.
And pray for me and my wife the next time we go to Target. We usually go in for one thing and end up in a situation that looks a lot like the following video...
Don't let your lessons be like this... add pathways!
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