Diagnostic Teaching

Author(s): Madeline Hunter

Source: The Elementary School Journal , Sep., 1979, Vol. 80, No. 1 (Sep., 1979), pp. 41-46
Published by: The University of Chicago Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1001226

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide
range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and
facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at
https://about.jstor.org/terms

The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend
access to The Elementary School Journal

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
Diagnostic Teaching Diagnosis is essential to effective teaching.
Originally, proponents of diagnosis asked:
"Are teachers diagnosing?" In some situa-
tions this question may still be appropriate,
Madeline Hunter Currently, a more appropriate question is
"What is being diagnosed and why?"
University Elementary School
University of California
The difference between diagnosing
Los Angeles, California and evaluating should be made explicit be-
cause the processes are similar. In both di-
agnosis and evalution one looks for certain
stipulated qualities, actions, skills, or ele-
ments. In both processes the findings are
used as a basis for decisions. The processes
differ in the type of information sought
and in the kinds of decisions made or in-
fluenced by that information.
Evaluation yields information that en-
ables the evaluator to categorize with a
label-"good," "bad," "indifferent," "suc-
cessful," "unsuccessful," "A," "C," "F." The
label may be used to certify that the stu-
dent does or does not have some skill, can
or cannot do something stipulated. Or the
information may be used to determine
whether to maintain, modify, or eliminate
a program. In evaluation, whatever is
being evaluated is placed on a continuum
from success to failure.
Diagnosis yields information that can
be used to determine what needs to be
done to improve a situation, action, or
achievement. The purpose of diagnosis is
not to categorize, but to suggest a prescrip-
tion. You evaluate a sports team by de-
termining whether it is a winner or a loser.
You diagnose that team by observing it
play, analyzing the plays, and determining
what needs to be done to improve playing.
The Elementary School Journal
Volume 80, Number 1 Types of diagnosis
? 1979 by The University of Chicago
0013-5984180/8001-0004O00.75 There are three types of diagnosis: formal

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 42 THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL

diagnosis, informalformation
diagnosis, and
that is useful. The in-
information
ferential diagnosis. can be used to decide at which level of dif-
Formal diagnosis compares specified
ficulty to start teaching, when to move on,
when to
elements with stipulated go back and reteach.
criteria. For Observation
each
individual or situation, formal
can focus either on adiagnosis
process-a discussion
or (s)he
yields the answer "Yes, a baseballdid,"
game-oror on a"No,
product-a
(s)he didn't." The data
mathare
paper,accurate, pre-
written work, a map.
cise, and specific for each individual
The strength or is
of informal diagnosis
that tests
situation. Well-designed the information
are is easy to obtain, re-
common
tools of formal diagnosis. The
quires no outside tests
work, may for
and is available
focus on performance-on speaking,
immediate use onweak-
while teaching. The
high jumping, on solving, on cooperating.
ness of informal diagnosis is that the in-
Or the tests may focus on amay
formation product-on
be less precise thanathe in-
paragraph, on math solutions, formation from or formal
on diagnosis
an art and,
project. although the results are representative for
Formal diagnosis has both advantages most of the group, they may not be accu-
and disadvantages. The strength of well- rate for some members.
conceived and carefully administered for- Inferential diagnosis is based on the
mal diagnosis is that it gives the informa- teacher's experience with a group or an in-
tion needed about each individual. The dividual. Or inferential diagnosis may be
weakness of formal diagnosis is thatbased on the teacher's experience with a
it may
be time consuming to administer. Fur- group, individual, or situation
previous
thermore, there is usually a delay between
that is seen as similar to the present one.
the gathering of information and its
Information gleaned in the past is trans-
availability for use by the teacher because
ferred to the present and is acted on as if it
were and
formal diagnosis must be corrected current. A teacher infers that able
students understand the current material
recorded. A simple initial formal diagnosis
is useful to indicate the general level of in the past, able students have
because,
difficulty where achievement stops andunderstood it. Recalling that classes
usually
new learning needs to begin. in the past have taken a long time to grasp
Informal diagnosis is the heart and
a concept, a teacher infers that the present
class
core of diagnostic teaching. For each will not understand after the first ex-
indi-
vidual or situation, informal diagnosis
posure.
yields bountiful information at the Themo-advantage of inferential diagnosis
ment it is needed. The information may beit can save time and energy that
is that
less accurate than the results from formal otherwise must be expended in diagnostic
diagnosis, but the information is rea-activities, formal or informal. The dis-
sonably reliable and immediately available.advantage of inferential diagnosis is that its
Informal diagnostic information mayvalidity depends on the similarity of the
be obtained through group feedback orpresent to the past. This validity can range
sensitive observation.
from very low to very high, depending on
In group feedback, the teacher can getthe teacher's professional astuteness and
indicators of learning from each membersensitivity.
of the group by nonverbal responses. The No one of the three types of
diagnosis-formal, informal, or in-
teacher might say, "Signal if you agree."
"Thumbs up if you choose this answer." ferred-is always best. The teacher must
"Close your eyes. Now raise your handbe sensitive to the demands of a particular
when I make a statement that's true." situation and remember that there are
Observation often gives the teacher in- three kinds of diagnoses. Teachers need

SEPTEMBER 1979

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 DIAGNOSTIC TEACHING 43

A third, and theformal

not always use time-consuming most neglected,di-area
agnosis, which requires administering
of diagnosis is the teacher's use ofand
princi-
correcting tests, and stockpiling
ples of learning. Which data. Cer-
principles can be
tainly, formal diagnosis need
used most not
effectively with be used
each learner to
when precise data are stimulate motivation to learn? To
not necessary. In increase
the
past, we may have used too
the rate little
and the degreeformal
of learning? To
diagnosis. Now, schools are erring in of
improve retention and transfer the
learning
opposite direction by to
making bookkeepers
other appropriate situations? How can
and recorders out of teachers. Paperwork
those learning principles be custom tai-
has become so demanding
lored for eachthat
learner, many
then artistically
teachers have insufficient used for maximum
time or effect? (1-5)
energy
left to teach.
To increase the probability of learning,
The examples we have used in formal, all three of these diagnostic areas-
informal, and inferential diagnosis have content, learner's style, and teacher's use
focused chiefly on academic content. The of learning principles-must be de-
importance of sound decisions in this do- termined initially and then continually ver-
main is widely recognized. An unsound ified or modified by diagnostic teaching.
decision on what the "next learning"
should be can jeopardize new academic Diagnosing for appropriate level of content
learning. But the psychomotor domain Why has diagnosis of content become so
and the affective domain are also impor- important? The answer lies in the principle
tant. Results from formal, informal, and that learnings are incremental: one learn-
inferential diagnosis in the psychomotor ing is a foundation for the next. We must
domain and the affective domain- know which learnings have been acquired
and which have not. The information is
attitudes, interests, and appreciations-are
equally critical to a student's achievement.
necessary to determine what step to take
next in our teaching prescription. Pre-
Areas of diagnosis scriptions are based on information from
Diagnostic data must be collected in taskthree
analyses and require that one dis-
discrete areas: difficulty of content, criminate
learn- between dependent and in-
dependent sequences.
ing style, and use of principles of learning.
The most common area is the level of
The foundation for diagnosis and pre-
difficulty of content. Should the learner scription
be is a task analysis. Each complex
working on whole numbers or fractions? learning is a constellation of simpler com-
On simple concepts or complex concepts? ponent learnings. Before any systematic
On easy reading or on material with dif- diagnosis can be made, the teacher must
ficult vocabulary and complex ideas? identify the simpler learnings or skills that
A second essential diagnostic area is the
make up the complex learning sought.
individual's learning style. Which modal- Next, the teacher needs to determine
ities are most helpful to an individual's
which of those simpler learnings must be
learning? Listening, observing, reading,
acquired in a certain order and which can
doing? Speaking, writing, demonstrating,be learned in any order.
drawing? In what environment does the Many learnings depend on other learn-
learner function best? A large group or ings
a and must be acquired in sequence. In
small group? With friends or separated arithmetic, children learn to count, then to
from friends? In the front of the room or
add, then to subtract, then to multiply,
in the back of the room? How much effort then to divide. In reading, children read at
on the part of the learner and the teacher is a simpler level then at more complex
necessary if learning is to occur? levels. Teacher and learner have no choice

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 44 THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL

in the order of acquiring dependent

dalities rather than to major learn-
in one. Use of
ings. current knowledge about left and right
It is important also to recognize that hemispheric processing in the brain, plus
some learnings are related but are not de- the use of many modalities, should insure
pendent on one another. Phonics does not that most students learn. The teacher,
depend on sight vocabulary. Measurement however, must maintain diagnostic vigi-
does not depend on multiplication. Spell- lance while teaching to determine whether
ing does not depend on vocabulary devel- a student "got it." If a student has not
opment. In working with independent learned through one approach the teacher
learnings we should not delay students' ac- needs to try another. If a student does not
quisition of one learning because of lack of understand when the teacher presents in-
another. Learnings in an independent se- formation orally, the teacher might aug-
quence can be acquired in any order. Skills ment spoken words with models, dia-
in paragraph writing can be acquired be- grams, pictures, or graphs that add visual
fore or after a pupil has achieved pro- information. Again, this kind of ongoing
ficiency in spelling, an extensive vocabu- decision-making implies that the teacher is
lary, or skill in using varied sentence pat- constantly diagnosing informally while
terns. In an independent sequence, teaching and adapting teaching techniques
teacher and learner may choose the order as necessary.
of acquisition according to interest,
availability of material, or caprice. How students demonstrate that they have
learned
Through diagnosis one can determine
where already acquired learning leaves off Some students can best indicate their
and where new learning can begin. The learning by writing; others by talking; still
new learning becomes the content to be others by diagraming, graphing, or dem-
achieved by the teaching prescription. onstrating pictorially. Students must have
practice with all modes of expression.
Diagnosis of learning style When one teaches diagnostically, however,
Diagnosis of level of content in the cogni- judgments about how much the student
tive, affective, or psychomotor areas con- has learned should not be based on a
stitutes only one-third of the task of di- method of expression that is difficult f
agnostic teaching. The different ways stu- the learner. It is diagnostically unsound
dents learn must also be diagnosed so that judge what an inarticulate student kno
students' learning styles can be accommo- about a subject from his discussion or
dated.
judge the understanding of a student wi
Diagnoses of these learning styles arepoor coordination by her diagram. Th
based on four considerations: how stu- question must always be asked: "Is t
dents acquire information or skills, how
problem a lack of learning or a lack of fa
students demonstrate that they have ity with this means of expressing th
learned, the learning environment, learning?"
and Quick checks using anoth
the learning effort required. mode of expression may locate the sourc
of difficulty.
How students acquire information or
skills The learning environment
One student may prefer learning by A third source of diagnostic data abou
seeing, another by listening, another by students
do- is the answer to the questio
ing. Seldom is there a need for formal "What
di- educational environment offers the
greatest potential for this student's
agnosis to identify a student's preferred
achievement?" Does this student learn bet-
learning modality, for each learner needs
to develop facility with many learning mo-
ter in a large group, which provides less
SEPTEMBER 1979

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
 DIAGNOSTIC TEACHING 45

visibility and therefore lessabout

Judgments vulnerability,
the quantity and the
or in a small group, qualitywhere there
of effort required is
of teacher anda
greater chance for accountability and per-
student are based on observation or past
sonal attention? Does this student learn
experience. This information is seldom
more when working near friends, or do
available from formal diagnosis.
they hinder learning? Should the learning
environment be exciting or placid, novel or
Diagnosing
predictable? Should the teacher be close by for appropriate teacher behav-
ior
or removed? Should assistance be readily
available or unavailable? Should dis- Educational science is becoming in-
tractors be eliminated or present?creasingly sensitive to the critical role of
An assessment of the optimum the learn-
teacher in a learner's accomplishment.
ing environment for a studentOften,
is notthe adetermining factor in a stu-
mandate to provide that environment,
dent's learning
for may be a teacher's accurate
diagnosis
an important aspect of growth is the of a pupil's need for "patting" or
ability
to learn in spite of environmental con-
"pitch forking." Critical in accomplishment
ditions. A teacher will not always may
be able to
be whether the teacher calls on John
provide the optimal environmentorfor each
on Jim first, whether the teacher gives a
student, nor should the teacher always
further example
do or moves on to the next
so. Still, the teacher must take into account
concept, whether the teacher gives a check
the conditions under which a diagnostic
test or says, "Don't worry if you don't
understand;
judgment was made and correct for an en-no one does at first."
vironment that was difficult. The errors on These are decisions that require
Bill's math paper may be due to his prox-artistry-a fine, swift, intuitive sense of
imity to his playful best friend, the ballsituations. To help the teacher build pro-
game outside, severe humiliation at recess,
fessional skills that support this intuitive
the knowledge that the results will de- "artistry" of teaching, four categories of
termine his math group placement for teaching decisions and actions need to be
the next few weeks and that he wants to
considered: those that increase the prob-
be with a certain girl. These critical ability of students' intent to learn (motiva-
diagnostic data are difficult for a computertion), those that increase the rate and the
to digest. It is essential to have a sensitive
amount of learning, those that enhance re-
human being on site. tention, and those that encourage the
transfer of learning to new situations that
The learning effort required require problem-solving, decision-making,
A fourth, and often overlooked, source
and creativity (1-5).
of diagnostic data is an estimate of the Research has identified basic principles
amount of effort required of the teacherthat affect learning. We do not have for-
and the learner to achieve the intended mal tests, however, that will give us accu-
learning. This information is not related to predictive information for each situa-
rate
intelligence exclusively, but to persever-
tion. Only by diagnostic teaching can we
ance, motivation, distractibility, and previ-
answer questions such as these:
ous experience. Should a student practice a particular
A slow learner may be so determined learning once? Twice? Or should we re-
that his achievement is reasonably efficient quire overlearning?
or so distracted that learning takes forever. Will this student learn faster with a low
A bright learner may be so unmotivated level of concern or a high level?
that the teacher must make an intense ef- What will reinforce this student? Moti-
fort to elicit work or so self-disciplined that vate that one? Give each a feeling of suc-
the teacher is seldom needed. cess?

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms
46 THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL

When is enough, inenough? When

areas where the unlearned is of a
content
dependent
practice too much or too sequence makes success in the
little?
These questions cannot be
next learning answered
impossible.
Also neglected
for any student without taking in educational
into ac- di-
agnoses have been critical
count current, at-this-moment data which
diagnostic
data. Is Jim fed up with
suggest that learning styles should or
multiplication be var-
with analyzing his values? Should
ied to help we new
students acquire move knowl-
on to something different?
edge and new Or iswell
skills as this the all
as strengthen
critical moment when atheir
bit more
learning effort
modalities. Timewill
and energy
deepen his understanding? can be wastedNonverbal
in this diagnosticsig-area by
nals from Jim and dwelling a teacher's sensitive
on the identification of every stu-
reading of those signals give learning
dent's optimum the answer.
modality while
No set of what-to-do admonitions will
neglecting the development of help,
all learning
nor can one turn to an educational
modalities needed throughoutcrystal
life.
ball.
Besides diagnosing appropriate level of
It is these diagnostic decisions
content and monitoring
and diagnostically be- a
haviors that separate student's the technicians from
style of learning, a teacher must
the artists in teaching. The
be sensitive teacher
to the impact of thewho environ-
has a "knack with kids" but no science of ment in which learning occurs. Environ-
instruction can remain a promising ment can help or hinder, promote success
amateur who never developed the rigor or failure. Therefore life space must be
needed to become a true professional. Thetaken into account, modified, or "im-
teacher who has the science but has never
munized against" by diagnostic teaching.
developed the artistry of delivery remains, Finally, the most critical elements of
at best, a technician. To quote Anselsuccessful learning that teachers control,
Adams, the famous photographer, "You their decisions and behaviors, must be the
can have a craft without an art, but you outcome of diagnostic information, not
can't have an art without a craft!" Teach-
teachers' needs, moods, personalities, or
ing requires both artistry and science. caprice. Deliberate and purposeful behav-
ior is the hallmark and the ultimate objec-
A tri-dimensional approach to diagnosistive of every professional while rendering
the service needed so that all students
The diagnosis of learners has been vastly
can learn.
and unproductively oversimplified and
overtested in formal diagnosis. It has been
assumed that the only diagnostic data of
importance are the achievements of each
References
learner in academic areas. The important
1. Madeline Hunter. Motivation Theory for
elements of diagnosis in the affective andTeachers. El Segundo, California: TIP Publi-
the psychomotor areas have been over-
cations, 1967.
looked. As a result of this oversimplifica-
2. Madeline Hunter. Reinforcement Theory Jor
tion, many teachers have attended only to Teachers. El Segundo, California:TIP Publi-
cations, 1967.
the rate of acquisition of certain knowl- 3. Madeline Hunter. Teach More-Faster! El
edge and skills; as soon as this is achieved Segundo, California: TIP Publications,
that is next. Because of confusion about 1969.

dependent and independent sequences 4.

ofMadeline Hunter. Retention Theory for
learning, some students have been de-Teachers. El Segundo, California: TIP Publi-
cations, 1967.
spairingly "stuck" in one area when they
5. Madeline Hunter. Teach for Transfer. El
could have had the refreshment of change. Segundo, California: TIP Publications,
Other students have been allowed to go on 1971.
SEPTEMBER 1979

This content downloaded from

140.148.165.40 on Tue, 20 Feb 2024 19:58:43 +00:00
All use subject to https://about.jstor.org/terms