9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set

SEPTEMBER 6, 2014

JENNIFER GONZALEZ

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ANTICIPATORY SET
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9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

(noun) A brief portion of a lesson given at the very beginning to get students’ attention,
activate prior knowledge, and prepare them for the day’s learning. Also known as advance
organizer, hook, or set induction. 

When you start a lesson, you could begin it with something like this: Today we’re going to
continue our study of hygiene. Or you could get more creative: You could come into the room,
your hair a mess, with dirt under your fingernails, stained clothing, your teeth covered in yellow
goo, with little signs taped all over you that say scabies, diarrhea, hepatitis A, hookworm, and
lice.

Which of these two approaches will be better at grabbing students’ attention?

The second one is an example of a creative anticipatory set — a bit at the very beginning of a
lesson that focuses students on what they are going to learn that day. Anticipatory sets can be
very simple, like sharing a brief anecdote that connects to the lesson or giving students a
problem to work out, or they can require more planning, like performing a short skit or showing
a series of thought-provoking images. The point of the anticipatory set is to get students
curious, wake up their brains, and give them a taste of what they are about to learn.

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9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

For me, the anticipatory set was one of the most neglected components of my teaching,
second only to the post-lesson reflection. It was enough work to plan a good lesson; tacking
on the anticipatory set was an extra mile I rarely managed to run. But when I did, it always paid
off. With a well-crafted, well-executed anticipatory set, instruction becomes an art.

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DO ANTICIPATORY SETS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

The term “anticipatory set” was coined by Madeline Hunter
(https:/
/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_Cheek_Hunter)

in the 1960’s, when she developed a lesson plan model

(http:/
/www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/turnaround-principles/8-steps-effective-lesson-
plan-design-madeline-hunter.pdf)

that became so widely adopted, her name isn’t even always attached to it anymore. For an
updated version of her work, see the 2004 manual Madeline Hunter’s Mastery Teaching
(https:/
/amzn.to/2k7XI5y)

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9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

So it’s a standard part of a classic lesson plan. But does it work? If you make an effort to add
an anticipatory set to your lesson, will students actually learn more?

The research says yes. Although it has been examined under a few different names, a number
of studies over the past several decades support its use: Schuck (1969) concluded that
students whose teachers were trained in the use of set induction “will achieve significantly
higher than those exposed to teachers not trained in this instructional skill” (Schuck, p. 792).
Educational psychologist David Ausubel
(https:/
/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ausubel)

spent much of his career advocating for the use of advance organizers, and his theories were
further refined and supported by other research, both focused studies (Townsend, & Clarihew,
1989) and broad meta-analyses (Luiten, Ames, & Ackerson, 1980). In four studies analyzed by
Robert Marzano and his colleagues, students whose instruction included advance organizers
showed percentile gains ranging from 9 to 29 points (Marzano, Pickering & Pollock, 2001, p.
117). Those number are definitely enough to justify making anticipatory sets a regular part of
your practice.

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR ANTICIPATORY

SET
If you make the effort to add an anticipatory set to your lesson, follow these guidelines to
make sure you maximize its impact:

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9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

It should have a relevant, content-based connection to the most essential part of the day’s
learning, rather than a superfluous one. If you’re teaching students about nutrition, bringing in
grapefruit slices for students to taste won’t do a whole lot to teach them about a balanced
diet. But that same fruit will have much more relevance to a chemistry lesson on acids and
bases.

It should be followed by a clear bridge to the day’s learning objectives. Once the anticipatory
set is done, rather than just jump right into the lesson, take a minute to escort students into it
by saying something like, “The reason your lips are pursing together is because of the acid in
the fruit, and today we’re going to get a better understanding of the chemistry behind that
taste.”

It should reappear during the lesson. For the anticipatory set to have meaning, refer back to it
during the lesson. When you’re taking a look at the chemical composition of acids, mention the
grapefruit again. The added bonus of doing this is that students will come to expect that
whatever weird thing you do at the beginning of class, it’s going to end up meaning something
later.

Although the impact of anticipatory sets varies depending on the type and delivery, what’s
clear is that lessons with them generally help students learn and retain information better than
lessons without them. ♦

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9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

(http:/
/www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Anticipatory-
Sets-That-Will-Knock-Their-Socks-Off-1432381)

Want lots of great ideas for anticipatory sets? Visit my store

(http:/
/www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Cult-Of-Pedagogy)

on Teachers Pay Teachers, where you’ll find 40+ fantastic ideas

in Anticipatory Sets that will Knock Their Socks Off
(http:/
/www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Anticipatory-
Sets-That-Will-Knock-Their-Socks-Off-1432381)

References:

Hunter, R. (2004). Madeline Hunter’s mastery teaching. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Luiten, J., Ames, W. & Ackerson, G. (1980). A meta-analysis of the effects of advance organizers
on learning and retention. American Educational Research Journal, 17: 211-18.

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9/3/2020 Know Your Terms: Anticipatory Set | Cult of Pedagogy

Marzano, R.J., Pickering, D.J., & Pollock, J.E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works:
Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. Alexandria, VA:
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Schuck, R.F. (1969). The effects of set induction upon pupil achievement, retention, and
assessment of effective teaching in a unit on respiration in the BSCS curricula.
Educational Leadership, 2(5), 785-793. Retrieved
from http:/
/www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_196905_schuck.pdf.

Townsend, M.A.R. & Clarihew, A. (1989). Facilitating children’s comprehension through the use
of advance organizers. Journal of Literacy Research, 21(1) 15-35.

Know Your Terms

(http:/
/cultofpedagogy.com/category/craft/know-your-terms/)

 is my effort to build a user-friendly knowledge base of terms every educator should know.
New items will be added on an ongoing basis. If you hear some term at a PD and don’t want
to admit that you don’t know what it means, send it to me via the contact
(http:/
/cultofpedagogy.com/contact/)

 form and I’ll research it for you. And I promise not to tell anyone you sent it: You can totally
act like you knew it all along.

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