Chunk, Chew and Check – That's How the Brain Learns Best!

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This is the refrain that teachers who attend Inspiring Learners workshops remember the most. Why, because we made it sticky. You may have learned these in college as input, process and output, but CHUNK, CHEW and CHECK is stickier! And at Inspiring Learners, we know that if you want learning to stick, you have to find ways to make it sticky.

We can look back over a week or two of our lesson plans, and we may see clear delineations between the chunk, chew, and check. But oftentimes, we will find that chunk and chew blend (Jigsaw, for example), or it happens that one project is both a chew and check. No matter how we mix it up, the intent is to vary the ways in which we have our students input, process and output new learning. If we design the chunk, chew,or check in the same way day after day (read the book, do the questions, take the test, for example), we are not differentiating our instruction. We are responsible for creating the boredom, frustration and apathy we see in our students.

Varying these three steps in our lesson design allows us to thoughtfully respond to how well our learners gain access to content, process and own what we have taught them and demonstrate that they have mastered the outcomes. With the Chunk, Chew and Check framework in place, we can more carefully monitor where learning, or the demonstration of learning, is successful or where learning breaks down for the learner. 

Examples

CHUNK: Roger can't read the book. I need to find another way for him to access the new information.  I'll have him read this text that is at his reading level.

CHEW: Wow, Wenting has really discovered when she adds movement to her learning, she can make better sense out of what she needs to recall.

CHECK:  Many of my students can't "show what they know" very effectively on tests.  I need to teach them specific skills for studying and being better test-takers, and I am going to add more choices on performance-based assessments so they can show what they know using their learning strength.

Once you know Chunk, Chew and Check, you'll see that any strategy you ever learn at any workshop will fit into one of these categories, and you'll know how to use it more effectively. Any new technology you use in your classroom will fit into the Chunk, Chew or Check categories.  When you implement RtI or IEP goals, you can determine if the intervention or accommodation is needed at the Chunk, Chew or Check part of the lesson. If you are co-teaching, you can decide who's going to lead teach the Chunk, Chew or Check part of the lesson.

As we design our lessons with chunk, chew and check in mind, we build an indispensable toolkit of strategies to vary the ways students engage in meaningful learning.  (See our book, Differentiating in the Real Classroom,  to get dozens of practical ideas for varying the Chunk, Chew and Check of your lessons by Whole Class, Choice and Readiness.  This book also offers doable suggestions for meeting the needs of Special Education, Gifted and English as a Second Language learners.

Reflecting on our  CHUNK, CHEW and CHECK practice:

• Are we offering different ways for students to chunk (acquire) new information?
• Are we giving students ample opportunity to chew (process) new learning in different ways?
• Are we asking our students to self-assess and reflect on what works best for them as learners?
• When we check and see that some students are not "getting it", how does that shape or inform our instruction?
• Does this activity get my learners to a clear and rigorous learning target?  (The strategies must be more than cute and fun, they must also be meaningful)
• How can I be transparent with my learners as I introduce this strategy? Will they understand WHY we are doing this?

For more ideas and information on varying the Chunk, Chew and Check of your lessons see the templates in our Free Resources Section.  If you'd like to have lots of ideas and strategies purchase our book Differentiating in the Real Classroom at a discounted price.