In the previous post, we explored why Chunk–Process–Record (CPR) is essential for keeping cognitive engagement alive and for building the knowledge students need before meaningful discovery can occur. This post focuses on the natural next question teachers ask:

          What does CPR actually look like in a lesson I’m already planning to teach?

The good news is this: implementing CPR does not require a new curriculum, new materials, or a complete instructional overhaul. It requires intentional pauses, clearer decisions, and a shift in who is doing the cognitive work.

Below is a practical way to use CPR tomorrow using the content you are already teaching.

Step 1: Chunk with Intention (5–10 minutes)

Before teaching, ask yourself one disciplined question:

         What is the critical content students must walk away with today?

Not everything in the lesson deserves equal attention. Strong chunking means identifying:

• Essential vocabulary
• Key facts or concepts
• Processes students must understand before they can think more deeply

With your crafted proficiency scale, you have already identified and listed your essential vocabulary, key facts, and processes. Use that as a guide. You may need to further chunk the Scale Level 2.0 bullet to help students optimize their limited working memory.

Use-it-tomorrow move:

• Limit each chunk to one idea or tightly related set of ideas. Deliver it briefly—through explanation, reading, modeling, or demonstration—then stop.
• If you find yourself explaining longer than a few minutes without pausing, you are likely overloading working memory.

Chunking is not about covering less; it is about clarifying what matters most.

Step 2: Pause to Process (2–5 minutes)

Processing is where learning actually happens, yet it is the step most often skipped. At times, teachers try to add just a bit more to the “working memory space” so students can have it to process. This can actually have the reverse effect and knock other important information out of working memory. It is important that after each chunk, students must do something cognitively productive with the information before moving on.

Use-it-tomorrow processing prompts:

• Explain this idea to a partner using your own words (summarize).
• What is similar or different about this compared to what we learned yesterday?(comparing)
• Which example fits—and which does not? Why? (questioning)
• What question do you still have about this chunk? (questioning)
• What do you think will come next in our building of knowledge? (predicting)

The key is that students are thinking, not listening. Plan to take the time necessary to acquire and encode the foundational knowledge. It is essential for conceptual understanding and abilities.

Processing does not need to be elaborate. It needs to be intentional.

Step 3: Record to Make Learning Stick (3–5 minutes)

Recording is where information becomes durable. When students represent learning through notes, visuals, symbols, or brief summaries, they strengthen memory and create something they can later retrieve and build upon.

Use-it-tomorrow recording options:

• A short written summary of the chunk
• A quick sketch, diagram, or model
• A list of key terms with examples
• A personal note: “This makes sense because…”

Recording is also an assessment for evidence. It allows teachers to see:

• Who has encoded the knowledge
• Who needs additional support
• Who is ready to move forward more independently

Putting It Together: CPR in One Cycle

A CPR-aligned lesson does not feel slower. It feels clearer. A simple cycle might look like this:

1. Chunk a key idea (brief instruction or input)
2. Process it (students think, talk, or reason)
3. Record it (students capture meaning)

Then repeat. This rhythm prevents passive compliance and replaces it with sustained cognitive engagement.

What to Look for to Know It’s Working

You will know CPR is working when:

• Students can explain ideas without rereading or rewatching
• Fewer students are “lost” during independent work
• Questions become more specific and more conceptual
• Students rely less on the teacher and more on their own recorded thinking

Most importantly, discovery becomes productive rather than overwhelming. This is because students have something to think with in the discovery process.

CPR as a Daily Design Habit

CPR is not an add-on. It is a design habit. When teachers consistently chunk with intention, pause for processing, and require recording, they create the conditions for deeper learning before releasing responsibility. Student-led discovery then becomes a natural next step, not a cognitive gamble.

Cognitive engagement does not stay alive by accident. It is designed one chunk, one process pause, one record at a time.

If you would like to deepen your understanding of generative learning within the Marzano Academies Instructional Model, consider exploring one of the Learning Hub’s Badging Experiences or subscribing to the Learning Lab for access to research folios, strategy guides, and a professional community focused on competency-based practice.