This strategy is supported by psychology in many ways. The “manageable” aspect has several reasons alone why it is effective. The first is in accordance with Piaget’s sociocultural theory, which is an outline of the stages of childhood and adolescent development. Most elementary school-age children reside in the stage he calls “Concrete Operational.” In this stage, most students can begin to classify information and put things in order, as well as stop thinking less about themselves and more about others. However, the ability to solve problems is typically not on board yet. For example, if a teacher in elementary school asks students where all the water goes when it rains, the students may just decide that it disappears, but have no idea why. Thus, teaching first graders the water cycle may not be a manageable objective. Students in middle and high school are mostly in the stage entitled “Formal Operational.” In this stage, students develop the ability to have abstract thoughts and hypothetico-deductive reasoning, or, problem solving. Therefore, it would now be manageable for students to think about the water cycle more in-depth because they can understand that water does not just disappear, but in-turn runs off into bodies of water or evaporates.
Also applicable here is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Vygotsky believed that each student has a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), or a zone of learning where they can perform tasks with the help of someone else. This help is referred to as scaffolding. Scaffolding in Vygotsky's theory is described much like scaffolding used in construction. Teachers (or another adult in an educational setting) begin a lesson with easy examples and by giving a lot of help. As time goes on and understanding improves, the teacher slowly increases the difficulty of the work and decreases the level of assistance, until the students can perform more difficult tasks on their own. The manageable aspect of the 4 Ms asks the teacher to decide if a lesson is manageable for his or her class. That is, is the information located in the students’ ZPD (based on previous experience with the class), and will the final goal be possible with the use of scaffolding?
In addition, there are two goal-oriented mindsets, performance and mastery, and the best goal is a combination of the two. A mastery mindset is one that focuses on the process, such as understanding the process behind taking derivatives in Calculus. A performance mindset is one that focuses on the outcome, such as all getting all As. The "measurable aspect" ask teachers to observe the lesson with a performance-oriented mindset. However, the best mindset is to understand why we take derivatives and then be able to apply that on a test and make an A. By combining the manageable and measurable aspects, the teacher decides if it is possible for the students to master the material, and then checks to make sure that they can apply the material and perform well on an assessment.
Also applicable here is Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory. Vygotsky believed that each student has a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), or a zone of learning where they can perform tasks with the help of someone else. This help is referred to as scaffolding. Scaffolding in Vygotsky's theory is described much like scaffolding used in construction. Teachers (or another adult in an educational setting) begin a lesson with easy examples and by giving a lot of help. As time goes on and understanding improves, the teacher slowly increases the difficulty of the work and decreases the level of assistance, until the students can perform more difficult tasks on their own. The manageable aspect of the 4 Ms asks the teacher to decide if a lesson is manageable for his or her class. That is, is the information located in the students’ ZPD (based on previous experience with the class), and will the final goal be possible with the use of scaffolding?
In addition, there are two goal-oriented mindsets, performance and mastery, and the best goal is a combination of the two. A mastery mindset is one that focuses on the process, such as understanding the process behind taking derivatives in Calculus. A performance mindset is one that focuses on the outcome, such as all getting all As. The "measurable aspect" ask teachers to observe the lesson with a performance-oriented mindset. However, the best mindset is to understand why we take derivatives and then be able to apply that on a test and make an A. By combining the manageable and measurable aspects, the teacher decides if it is possible for the students to master the material, and then checks to make sure that they can apply the material and perform well on an assessment.
