Provide Closure

A common mistake made by inexperienced teachers is to assume that their own global understanding of a topic and its presentation is shared by their students. It isn't, ever. Learners operate locally, focused on tasks, and usually have no idea what is around the next corner. They may not see connections and contexts unless they have been pointed out. Higher order organization of a topic, and its placement in larger memory structures, comes much later. Accordingly, when a learner has successfully completed a task, or reached the end of the presentation of a new topic, they need to be told this explicitly. This is an important type of positive feedback. Summaries following an extended presentation provide a familiar setting for learners seeking closure.