Explicit Instruction
This is a very structured, systematic, and effective methodology for teaching academic skills. Explicit instruction is characterized by a series of supports or scaffolds with clear statements, clear explanations and demonstrations of instructional target.
1. Focus instruction on critical content. Teach skills, strategies, vocabulary terms, concepts, andrules that will empower students in the future and match the students’ instructional needs.
2. Sequence skills logically. Consider several curricular variables, such as teaching easier skillsbefore harder skills, teaching high- frequency skills before skills that are less frequent in usage,ensuring mastery of prerequisites to a skill before teaching the skill itself, and separating skills andstrategies that are similar and thus may be confusing to students.
3. Break down complex skills and strategies into smaller instructional units. Teach in smallsteps. Segmenting complex skills into smaller instructional units of new material addressesconcerns about cognitive overloading, processing demands, and the capacity of students’ workingmemory. Once mastered, units are synthesized (i.e., practiced as a whole).
4. Design organized and focused lessons. Make sure lessons are organized and focused, in orderto make optimal use of instructional time. Organized lessons are on topic, well sequenced, andcontain no irrelevant digressions.
5. Begin lessons with a clear statement of the lesson’s goals and your expectations. Telllearners clearly what is to be learned and why it is important. Students achieve better if theyunderstand the instructional goals and outcomes expected, as well as how the information or skillspresented will help them.
6. Review prior skills and knowledge before beginning instruction. Provide a review of relevantinformation. Verify that students have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to learn the skill beingtaught in the lesson. This element also provides an opportunity to link the new skill with otherrelated skills.
7. Provide step-by-step demonstrations. Model the skill and clarify the decision- making processesneeded to complete a task or procedure by thinking aloud as you perform the skill. Clearlydemonstrate the target skill or strategy, in order to show the students a model of proficientperformance.
8. Use clear and concise language. Use consistent, unambiguous wording and terminology. Thecomplexity of your speech (e.g., vocabulary, sentence structure) should depend on students’receptive vocabulary, to reduce possible confusion.
9. Provide an adequate range of examples and non- examples. In order to establish theboundaries of when and when not to apply a skill, strategy, concept, or rule, provide a wide rangeof examples and non- examples. A wide range of examples illustrating situations when the skill willbe used or applied is necessary so that students do not underuse it. Conversely, presenting a widerange of non- examples reduces the possibility that students will use the skill inappropriately.
10. Provide guided and supported practice. In order to promote initial success and buildconfidence, regulate the difficulty of practice opportunities during the lesson, and provide studentswith guidance in skill performance. When students demonstrate success, you can graduallyincrease task difficulty as you decrease the level of guidance.
As noted earlier, effective and explicit instruction can be viewed as providing aseries of instructional supports or scaffolds—first through the logical selection andsequencing of content, and then by breaking down that content into manageableinstructional units based on students’ cognitive capabilities (e.g., working memorycapacity, attention, and prior knowledge). Instructional delivery is characterizedby clear descriptions and demonstrations of a skill, followed by supported prac-tice and timely feedback. Initial practice is carried out with high levels of teacherinvolvement; however, once student success is evident, the teacher’s support is sys-tematically withdrawn, and the students move toward independent performance.The 16 elements of explicit instruction can also be combined into a smaller number.Rosenshine and Stevens (1986) and Rosenshine (1997) have grouped these teachingelements into the six teaching functions outlined in Figure 1.2.
fiGurE 1.1. (cont.)
11. Require frequent responses. Plan for a high level of student– teacher interaction via the useof questioning. Having the students respond frequently (i.e., oral responses, written responses,or action responses) helps them focus on the lesson content, provides opportunities for studentelaboration, assists you in checking understanding, and keeps students active and attentive.
12. Monitor student performance closely. Carefully watch and listen to students’ responses, sothat you can verify student mastery as well as make timely adjustments in instruction if studentsare making errors. Close monitoring also allows you to provide feedback to students about howwell they are doing.
13. Provide immediate affirmative and corrective feedback. Follow up on students’ responses asquickly as you can. Immediate feedback to students about the accuracy of their responses helpsensure high rates of success and reduces the likelihood of practicing errors.
14. Deliver the lesson at a brisk pace. Deliver instruction at an appropriate pace to optimizeinstructional time, the amount of content that can be presented, and on-task behavior. Use arate of presentation that is brisk but includes a reasonable amount of time for students’ thinking/processing, especially when they are learning new material. The desired pace is neither so slowthat students get bored nor so quick that they can’t keep up.
15. Help students organize knowledge. Because many students have difficulty seeing howsome skills and concepts fit together, it is important to use teaching techniques that make theseconnections more apparent or explicit. Well- organized and connected information makes it easierfor students to retrieve information and facilitate its integration with new material.
16. Provide distributed and cumulative practice. Distributed (vs. massed) practice refers tomultiple opportunities to practice a skill over time. Cumulative practice is a method for providingdistributed practice by including practice opportunities that address both previously and newlyacquired skills. Provide students with multiple practice attempts, in order to address issues ofretention as well as automaticity.
2. Sequence skills logically. Consider several curricular variables, such as teaching easier skillsbefore harder skills, teaching high- frequency skills before skills that are less frequent in usage,ensuring mastery of prerequisites to a skill before teaching the skill itself, and separating skills andstrategies that are similar and thus may be confusing to students.
3. Break down complex skills and strategies into smaller instructional units. Teach in smallsteps. Segmenting complex skills into smaller instructional units of new material addressesconcerns about cognitive overloading, processing demands, and the capacity of students’ workingmemory. Once mastered, units are synthesized (i.e., practiced as a whole).
4. Design organized and focused lessons. Make sure lessons are organized and focused, in orderto make optimal use of instructional time. Organized lessons are on topic, well sequenced, andcontain no irrelevant digressions.
5. Begin lessons with a clear statement of the lesson’s goals and your expectations. Telllearners clearly what is to be learned and why it is important. Students achieve better if theyunderstand the instructional goals and outcomes expected, as well as how the information or skillspresented will help them.
6. Review prior skills and knowledge before beginning instruction. Provide a review of relevantinformation. Verify that students have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to learn the skill beingtaught in the lesson. This element also provides an opportunity to link the new skill with otherrelated skills.
7. Provide step-by-step demonstrations. Model the skill and clarify the decision- making processesneeded to complete a task or procedure by thinking aloud as you perform the skill. Clearlydemonstrate the target skill or strategy, in order to show the students a model of proficientperformance.
8. Use clear and concise language. Use consistent, unambiguous wording and terminology. Thecomplexity of your speech (e.g., vocabulary, sentence structure) should depend on students’receptive vocabulary, to reduce possible confusion.
9. Provide an adequate range of examples and non- examples. In order to establish theboundaries of when and when not to apply a skill, strategy, concept, or rule, provide a wide rangeof examples and non- examples. A wide range of examples illustrating situations when the skill willbe used or applied is necessary so that students do not underuse it. Conversely, presenting a widerange of non- examples reduces the possibility that students will use the skill inappropriately.
10. Provide guided and supported practice. In order to promote initial success and buildconfidence, regulate the difficulty of practice opportunities during the lesson, and provide studentswith guidance in skill performance. When students demonstrate success, you can graduallyincrease task difficulty as you decrease the level of guidance.
As noted earlier, effective and explicit instruction can be viewed as providing aseries of instructional supports or scaffolds—first through the logical selection andsequencing of content, and then by breaking down that content into manageableinstructional units based on students’ cognitive capabilities (e.g., working memorycapacity, attention, and prior knowledge). Instructional delivery is characterizedby clear descriptions and demonstrations of a skill, followed by supported prac-tice and timely feedback. Initial practice is carried out with high levels of teacherinvolvement; however, once student success is evident, the teacher’s support is sys-tematically withdrawn, and the students move toward independent performance.The 16 elements of explicit instruction can also be combined into a smaller number.Rosenshine and Stevens (1986) and Rosenshine (1997) have grouped these teachingelements into the six teaching functions outlined in Figure 1.2.
fiGurE 1.1. (cont.)
11. Require frequent responses. Plan for a high level of student– teacher interaction via the useof questioning. Having the students respond frequently (i.e., oral responses, written responses,or action responses) helps them focus on the lesson content, provides opportunities for studentelaboration, assists you in checking understanding, and keeps students active and attentive.
12. Monitor student performance closely. Carefully watch and listen to students’ responses, sothat you can verify student mastery as well as make timely adjustments in instruction if studentsare making errors. Close monitoring also allows you to provide feedback to students about howwell they are doing.
13. Provide immediate affirmative and corrective feedback. Follow up on students’ responses asquickly as you can. Immediate feedback to students about the accuracy of their responses helpsensure high rates of success and reduces the likelihood of practicing errors.
14. Deliver the lesson at a brisk pace. Deliver instruction at an appropriate pace to optimizeinstructional time, the amount of content that can be presented, and on-task behavior. Use arate of presentation that is brisk but includes a reasonable amount of time for students’ thinking/processing, especially when they are learning new material. The desired pace is neither so slowthat students get bored nor so quick that they can’t keep up.
15. Help students organize knowledge. Because many students have difficulty seeing howsome skills and concepts fit together, it is important to use teaching techniques that make theseconnections more apparent or explicit. Well- organized and connected information makes it easierfor students to retrieve information and facilitate its integration with new material.
16. Provide distributed and cumulative practice. Distributed (vs. massed) practice refers tomultiple opportunities to practice a skill over time. Cumulative practice is a method for providingdistributed practice by including practice opportunities that address both previously and newlyacquired skills. Provide students with multiple practice attempts, in order to address issues ofretention as well as automaticity.