The word “chunking” makes me think of what might follow a night of hard partying. This thought reminds me of a favorite Princess Bride quote, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” When I first heard the word chunking I truly did not grasp the meaning of it. After reading Small Teaching Online: Applying Learning Science in Online Classes, I have a definition that works for me. 

Initially chunking made me think of a bunch of small independent lessons. Currently we are teaching about the 1920’s in U.S. History. An example of chunking with this definition would mean teaching a lesson on prohibition, another on consumerism, then women’s rights, and maybe one on religious fundamentalism. At the end of these lessons students will know what happened during the 1920’s, but have no idea about why it happened or the relationship between these chunks. Even so, the ground was covered and it will be time to move on to the 1930’s. 
 

Before we leave the 1920’s, let’s try chunking again, but after we apply some backwards design. We open the lesson this time with an essential question. For example, “How did various socioeconomic groups react to the prosperity of the 1920’s?” This raises more questions, like who were these groups and why did they react so differently? Soon we have a list of the above-mentioned groups. But who has time to research all these groups? 

This is where we do some jigsaw chunking. Every team takes a topic and researches the topic while always focusing on the essential question. Before beginning the activities the teacher tells the class that each team will convey what they have learned to the rest of the class. When that part is completed, each person will write a reflection that explains why each of the socioeconomic groups reacted so differently. Each team will become an expert in one piece of the puzzle. When the pieces are revealed, the whole puzzle, the essential question, will be revealed to everyone. 

More chunking comes with the research and delivery. Each teammate will find one or more pieces of unique evidence for the team’s topic. This will be put on a Google doc shared with teammates. Included will be a MLA citation, a quote or paraphrase, and a reflection of the meaning and usefulness of the information, pretty much like evidence for a DBQ. Teammates will then decide how they will turn the information into a presentation, a video, a website, or whatever delivery method works best. Each teammate will be responsible for a chunk of the delivery, and will put their name on their chunk. One benefit of this chunking with names is that it allows the teacher to see the contribution of each student. It makes formative and summative assessments so much easier. 

Finally, when all the pieces of the puzzle have been assembled and delivered, it is time for the summative assessment. The essential question will be answered by each student using examples from each piece of the puzzle. For this assignment, if the teacher has done his or her job, students will realize the Roaring 1920’s had more to it besides partying and throwing chunks.