Using the ‘Rule of Three’ for teaching and learning, we have developed four sets of three key terms to help teachers and administrators remember some important aspects of classroom and school management. As a result, we have an easy-to-remember acronym: ‘OAR’. This acronym also symbolizes that if we follow some basic rules and concepts, we will never be left up the creek without a paddle. 😉
Before getting into ‘OAR’, we should first address the ‘Rule of Three’. This is a concept that is used in math, science, computer programming, and other courses at renowned universities around the world. In fact, it is nothing new. The concept itself goes all the way back to one of history’s greatest teachers; Aristotle, who classified educational and scientific pursuits as theoretical, productive, and practical.
Essentially, it means that students should be given three opportunities to learn. Let’s look at the three classifications as steps in the educational process.
Rule of Three – Step One
This is when the first exposure occurs. The key is that students must be engaged in some way, not lectured. If a student’s first exposure is passive, then they are not ‘engaged’. This is not to say that a short lecture, video clip, audio file, etc. cannot be used at this stage, but in order for engagement to occur, students must be asked to DO something. Therefore, in addition to the short introduction, students could engage in a vocabulary development exercise, participate in looking something up, draw timelines, work out mathematical problem sets, etc. Anything that requires students to DO something, is acceptable. We aren’t asking students to be proficient. We simply want them to acquire knowledge and comprehension while performing some action.
Rule of Three – Step Two
Now that students have some basic knowledge and comprehension, they can further develop. In this step, collaborative learning strategies should be used. For example, students can work together to classify word families, look for similarities in words they already know and what they are currently learning, discuss whether or not presented information is true or false (and why), collectively graph or diagram mathematical problems, etc. During this step, importance should be placed on students working together to find answers and visualize results.
Rule of Three – Step Three
The third step is the ‘fun’ step, where students get to use what they have learned in some sort of ‘hands-on’ project. In order to be successful, the activity should require problem-solving (analysis), critical thinking (evaluation), and creative thinking (synthesis). For example, students could write a play for English, run a store for math, build a model for science, prepare presentations, create a quiz show, have a panel discussion or debate, or create a portfolio of mathematical patterns in the form of artwork or images from nature or architecture (shapes, measurements, etc. that they see around them).
By following the Rule of Three, we can intentionally increase the complexity and difficulty of our lessons. This, in turn, helps students remember more because they are experiencing learning rather than just observing. Remember, if the bum goes numb, the brain grows dumb.
In addition to the Rule of Three, we must not neglect opportunities for formative assessment along the way. Students cannot be left to their own devices. Teaching must take place, corrections must be made, and positive reinforcement must occur during each step.
Now that we have a better understanding of the Rule of Three, we can look into the three sets of three terms I consider the core of a school management philosophy: ‘OAR’. Click on the letters to read about each letter in the acronym.