Explainer: what is explicit instruction and how does it help children learn?

April 12, 2019 6.09am AEST

Explicit instruction is a term that summarises a type of teaching in which lessons are designed and delivered to novices
to help them develop readily-available background knowledge on a particular topic.

Explicit instruction emerged out of research conducted in the 1960s and 1970s. Researchers sat at the back of
classrooms and looked for relationships between particular behaviours of effective teachers and their students’
academic performance.

This research found teachers with the best results spent more time reviewing previously learned concepts, checking
whether students had understood concepts and correcting misconceptions during the lesson. Explicit teaching practices
involve showing students what to do and how to do it.

Like baking a cake, explicit instruction is a step-by-step process where deviating from the recipe or omitting ingredients
can have an underwhelming result.

This is contrasted to a type of learning where, before students are shown the essential information, they are asked to
practise a task, and then discover and construct some or all of the essential information themselves. This is sometimes
known as inquiry-based learning.

It can be useful for someone who wants to conduct an experiment to learn about evaporation and condensation,
provided they already understand the nature of solids, liquids and gases and how to safely use a Bunsen burner.
We remember what we think about

Explicit instruction is also known as “fully guided” practice. Teachers who follow an explicit approach explain,
demonstrate and model everything: from blending sounds together to decode words, to writing a complex sentence
with figurative language, to kicking a football.

While some students achieve success quickly, others need far more opportunities for practice. Explicit instruction
teachers provide daily reviews of previously learned knowledge and skills so they become automatic. Then they can be
applied to more complex tasks such as reading, writing a short story or playing a game of AFL.

Explicit instruction is underscored by a learning theory known as the information processing model. It is based on the
assumption we only remember what we think about, and keep thinking about. If you can still remember your childhood
telephone number, it’s probably because of the number of times you have used and retrieved that information.

It’s well known there is a limit to how much new information the human brain can process and how much can be stored
in our long-term memory. These understandings form something known as cognitive load theory, which adds further
value to the effectiveness of explicit instruction.

Put simply, knowing precursor maths skills – such as times-tables and the difference between the numerator and
denominator – reduces the strain on the limited space you have in your brain. So it might free up some brain space to
learn about more complex maths, such as simplifying fractions.

Particular models fall under the umbrella term of explicit instruction in Australia and include: explicit instruction, explicit
direct instruction, Direct Instruction and I do, we do, you do. These models are based on similar instructional principles
and refer to specific lesson design and delivery components.

Direct Instruction, for instance, consists of a suite of commercially available teaching resources developed from the work
of US educator Siegfried Engelmann in the 1960s. It is a highly scripted model, which is both a reason some teachers
perceive the approach as inflexible, and the reason it is effective. When followed with fidelity, direct instruction has
been shown to work. The model has proven quite effective when applied in remote aboriginal communities.

Explicit instruction, however, is not scripted. This means there is often variability between the way teachers use it and of
the component parts of this approach. This also makes definitive statements on its efficacy problematic.

So, what’s the controversy?

Since the late 1970s, more child-centered approaches have been the prevailing orthodoxy in teacher education and
curriculum design in Australia. These approaches include discovery learning and inquiry. They are based on a theory of
learning called constructivism that sees learning as an active process.

Teachers following a constructivist approach provide learning opportunities that enable students to come to their own
unique understandings of what is being taught. Constructivism is popular and prevalent because it personalizes learning,
emphasizes the active construction of knowledge and privileges hands-on learning to solve real-world problems.

Critics of explicit instruction typically argue it is a deficit model that sees students sitting passively in rows all day
engaging in rote learning. This is a misunderstanding of explicit instruction, which – when done properly – is engaging
and rarely done for extended periods of time.

It’s true the model requires students to face the teacher. This is because the process involves the teacher asking a lot of
questions. She or he may also ask children to write on mini-whiteboards to show their understanding during the lesson.

Arguments that explicit instruction doesn’t allow teachers to cater for range of student abilities are also ill-founded.
Explicit instruction allows teachers to teach the same concept to students but differentiate at the point of individual
practice.

For example, after teaching the algorithm for subtraction, students will have the same time to solve problems of
increasing difficulty. But not all students will follow the same process. While some students will only solve (29-13),
others might solve (189-101) and (1692-1331).

As adults learning to abseil or skydive, we prefer it when information is broken down into manageable chunks, the
instructor checks for understanding and we are given opportunities to practice the skills we’ll need before we step over
the edge. There is a place for explicit instruction in Australian classrooms, particularly when background knowledge is
low and the task is difficult.

Lorraine Hammond
Associate Professor, Edith Cowan University
https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-explicit-instruction-and-how-does-it-help-children-learn-115144

Explicit Teacher Modeling

Purpose

The purpose of explicit teacher modeling is to provide students with a clear, multi-sensory model of a skill or concept.
The teacher is the person best equipped to provide such a model.

What is it?

 Teacher both describes and models the math skill/concept.

 Teacher clearly describes features of the math concept or steps in performing math skill.
 Teacher breaks math concept/skill into learnable parts.
  Teacher describes/models using multi-sensory techniques.
 Teacher engages students in learning through demonstrating enthusiasm, through maintaining a lively pace,
through periodically questioning students, and through checking for student understanding.

What are the critical elements of this strategy?

There are eight essential components of explicit instruction:

1. Concept/skill is broken down into critical features/elements.

2. Teacher clearly describes concept/skill.
3. Teacher clearly models concept/skill.
4. Multi-sensory instruction (visual, auditory, tactile, kinesthetic)
5. Teacher thinks aloud as she/he models.
6. Teacher models examples and non-examples.
7. Cueing
8. High levels of teacher-student interaction

How do I implement the strategy?

1. Ensure that your students have the prerequisite skills to perform the skill.
2. Break down the skill into logical and learnable parts (Ask yourself, "what do I do and what do I think as I perform
the skill?").
3. Provide a meaningful context for the skill (e.g. word or story problem suited to the age & interests of your
students).
4. Provide visual, auditory, kinesthetic (movement), and tactile means for illustrating important aspects of the
concept/skill (e.g. visually display word problem and equation, orally cue students by varying vocal intonations,
point, circle, highlight computation signs or important information in story problems).
5. "Think aloud" as you perform each step of the skill (i.e. say aloud what you are thinking as you problem-solve).
6. Link each step of the problem solving process (e.g. restate what you did in the previous step, what you are going
to do in the next step, and why the next step is important to the previous step).
7. Periodically check student understanding with questions, remodeling steps when there is confusion.
8. Maintain a lively pace while being conscious of student information processing difficulties (e.g. need additional
time to process questions).
9. Model a concept/skill at least three times before beginning to scaffold your instruction.

How Does This Instructional Strategy Positively Impact Students Who Have Learning Problems?

 Teacher as model makes the concept/skill clear and learnable.

 High level of teacher support and direction enables student to make meaningful cognitive connections.
 Provides students who have attention problems, processing problems, memory retrieval problems, &
metacognitive difficulties an accessible "learning map".
 Links between subskills are directly made, making confusion and misunderstanding less likely.
 Multi-sensory cueing provides students multiple modes to process and thereby learn information.

Additional Information
Research Support For The Instructional Features Of This Instructional Strategy: Baker, Gersten, & Lee (2002); Baroody
(1987); Borkowski (1992); Brophy & Good (1986); Carnine, Dixon, & Silbert (1998); Cobb, Yackel, and Wood (1992); Hall
(2002); Kennedy & Tipps (2005); Kroesbergen & van Luit (2003); Mercer, Jordan, & Miller (1996); Mercer and Mercer,
2005; Miller, Butler, & Lee (1998); Montague (1992); Paris & Winograd (1990); Polloway & Patton (1993); Swanson
(1999).
Combine Explicit Teacher Modeling With Building Meaningful Student Connections And Scaffolding Instruction

Explicit teacher modeling is most effective when combined with two additional instructional strategies. Before Explicit
Teacher Modeling, you should build meaningful student connections between what students already know and what
they are going to learn through an advanced organizer. This strategy helps "set the stage" for learning (See the teacher
instruction strategy, Building Meaningful Student Connections). Scaffolding instruction after you have explicitly modeled
the concept/skill at least three times provides students the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned while
receiving immediate feedback from the teacher (See the teacher instruction strategy, Scaffolding Instruction). Using
these three teacher instruction strategies together and in the described sequence (i.e. 1.) Building Meaningful Student
Connections; 2.) Explicit Teacher Modeling; 3.) Scaffolding Instruction) provides a very effective instructional foundation
for concepts/skills students are initially learning or for which they need additional instruction.

https://fcit.usf.edu/mathvids/strategies/em.html

Explicit Teaching
What is Explicit Teaching?

Explicit teaching involves directing student attention toward specific learning in a highly structured environment. It is
teaching that is focused on producing specific learning outcomes.

Topics and contents are broken down into small parts and taught individually. It involves explanation, demonstration
and practice. Children are provided with guidance and structured frameworks. Topics are taught in a logical order and
directed by the teacher.

Another important characteristic of explicit teaching involves modeling skills and behaviors and modeling thinking. This
involves the teacher thinking out loud when working through problems and demonstrating processes for students. The
attention of students is important and listening and observation are key to success.

What is its purpose?

Explicit teaching is useful for introducing topics and specific skills. It provides guided instruction in the basic
understanding of required skills, which students canthen build on through practice, collaboration, repetition, hands on
activities and developmental play.

How do I do it?

Explicit instruction is a sequence of supports:

1. setting a purpose for learning
2. telling students what to do
3. showing them how to do it
4. guiding their hands-on application of the new learning.

Explicit instruction begins with setting the stage for learning, followed by a clear explanation of what to do (telling),
followed by modeling of the process (showing), followed by multiple opportunities for practice (guiding) until
independence is attained. Explicit instruction moves systematically from extensive teacher input and little student
responsibility initially � to total student responsibility and minimal teacher involvement at the conclusion of the
learning cycle.

Teacher Resources

Understanding Explicit Instruction http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/images/pdf.gif

http://public.callutheran.edu/~mccamb/explicitteaching.htm