ABSTRACT
WHY RECORD? Imagine that you have found a new job teaching in a high school. You are assigned beginning algebra. By the end of the first class session you discover that many of your students lack basic math skills. They are having problems with solving equations, not because they don’t understand what to do, but because they can’t readily multiply and divide. You need to find out the entering behavior (also called entry behavior) for each student, and to help remedy lack of fluency in those whose lack of skill is preventing their progress in solving equations. Entering behavior includes all relevant skills, including the prerequisites and component skills mentioned in the last chapter. Prerequisites are skills required for learning something new: components are a part of the new behavior. In many cases, the same skills (multiplying and dividing in this case) are both prerequisites for, and components of, the new performance.
