Instructional Methods

Road to Success was the product of past research projects and was part of a study involving vocational rehabilitation clients and transition students. Instruction in Road to Success was based on SIM, in which instructors routinely follow several stages to facilitate learner competency. These stages are woven throughout instruction:

DESCRIBE • MODEL • VERBAL PRACTICE • CONTROLLED PRACTICE & FEEDBACK • ADVANCED PRACTICE • GENERALIZATION

In the Describe stage, instructors expressed the rationale for learning a skill or behavior, how the skill or behavior will benefit the students, and what the elements of the skill actually are.

The Model stage involved instructors performing or demonstrating a skill or behavior and concurrently verbalizing their own thought processes, so that learners hear instructors explain their thinking while completing the task.

The Verbal Practice stage was an instructor’s first opportunity to check learner understanding of the new skill. Through a structured but not scripted rapid-fire question and answer format, instructors engaged learners about steps of skills or lesson, critical content, and the rationale and purpose for using the skill until the instructor is certain that all students grasp the skill or content. (See a sample structure)

During the Controlled Practice and Feedback stages, students performed the skill in whole or small group formats with feedback from instructors or peers.

The Advanced Practice and Feedback stages often consisted of role-play activity followed by “homework” as the learner tries out the new skill or behavior independent from the instructor and outside the classroom setting. In the following classes, more detailed discussion and feedback continued.

During the Generalization stage, the instructor and students identified various settings and situations in which the new skill could be learned, and how the skill might be adapted. Learners set goals for using the skill in real life situations. Because Road to Success encourages job seekers develop supportive networks, we recommended group rather than individual instruction. We expected instructors to make available ample class time for learners to communicate successes and challenges with one another, and to provide lesson specific feedback to students in an individualized setting.

Sample Page
The image below is an example of how the SIM model is displayed in the text of Road to Success.