Author: Hancock, Carol Wilcox
Title: Impact of the 4MAT Lesson Planning System on the Number ot Times a Teacher
was Off-task in a Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Grade Classroom
School/Degree: Baylor University, Ed.D..
Date: 2000
The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the 4MAT Lesson Planning system on the number of times a teacher was off-task in a fifth, sixth or seventh grade classroom. Three classroom teachers, one at each level, were observed over a 20 day period by three trained observers to obtain data describing the actual number of times each teacher was off-task in a 25-minute period. Off-task teacher behavior was defined as any redirection of teacher
attention by a student that pulls the teacher's focus from the topic he or she was currently teaching or discussing. The program under review was the 4MAT Lesson Planning System designed by Bernice McCarthy (1980) to reflect current brain theory and research, learning styles, and left and right modalities in a lesson planning system. A review of the current literature revealed that brain research on how students learn, brain hemisphericity, and learning styles contributed to an enhanced view of how learners actually learn. Teacher accountability
and student off-task , disruptive behaviors have been areas of great concern in education. Teacher off-task behavior has been tied to student off-task behaviors which consumes teacher time and attention during class. Research demonstrates that student off-task disruptive behavior was reduced when students are actively engaged in lessons. This study demonstrated a reduction in the number of off-task behaviors in the classrooms where the teachers were using the 4MAT System Lesson Planning System. Implications exist for the use of organize, structured lesson plans focused on student engagement .