Explicit Instruction Guide
Explicit Instruction
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“Explicit Instruction is characterized by a series of supports or ‘scaffolds,’ whereby students are guided through the learning process with clear explanations and demonstrations of the instructional target, and supported practice with feedback until independent mastery has been achieved.” (Anita Archer, Explicit Instruction)
The guiding principle of Explicit Instruction is that the more novice the learner, the more explicit the instruction should be. In other words, the inquiry process needs to be explicitly modeled so that students have the tools they need to be successful.
For example:
The teacher explicitly makes his thinking visible as he reads through a text, making annotations along the way with the intention of clarifying what a successful reader is thinking and doing, and what habits of mind he uses when reading. Given those strategies, students can practice with the teacher, in small group, then on their own. This approach works more effectively forall students.
Sixteen Elements of Explicit Instruction
#1 – FOCUS: Focus on content that will have some bearing on your students’ future and that will match what they need
in regards to the Common Core.
#2 – SKILLS SHOULD BE SEQUENTIAL: The teaching of skills should follow a logical order. Pre-requisite skills must
be taught, re-taught or at least addressed before moving on to higher-level skills. Make sure to separate skills and
strategies that are similar to avoid confusion.
#3 – BREAK SKILLS & STRATEGIES DOWN: To address cognitive overloading, break these new skills and strategies
down into smaller units for new material. Once these new skills and strategies are mastered, they can be grouped together into their larger parts.
#4 – ORGANIZE LESSONS: Time is of the essence. Organized and focused lessons will optimize instructional time.
#5 – STATE THE GOALS OF THE LESSON: Give students the goal of the lesson and its importance. It will garner the
maximum amount of educational investment of your students if they know what is expected and how it will help them.
#6 – PRIOR SKILLS REVIEW: Verify that students have the pre-requisite information that they will need to learn the new
skill.
#7 – STEP-BY-STEP: This is the “I DO” portion of the lesson. Model how something is done and the mental process
needed to complete the task. Be sure to Think-Aloud.
#8 – BE CLEAR & CONCISE: Use language that your students will understand and get them to the point of the lesson.
Use consistent terms. If terms needed are unknown, then a prior lesson may be needed.
#9 – EXAMPLES & NON-EXAMPLES ARE IMPORTANT: So students will understand when to and when not to use the
new skill it is important to give them examples and non-examples.
#10 – GUIDED, SUPPORTED PRACTICE: This is the “WE DO” portion of the lesson. This is where you scaffold the
activities to the students’ abilities and continuously increase the difficulty until they show proficiency.
#11 – FREQUENT RESPONSES: This will keep students on task and allow you to monitor understanding.
#12 – MONITOR PERFORMANCE: Watch for student mastery and/or errors.
#13 – PROVIDE IMMEDIATE FEEDBACK: Provide feedback, either affirmative or corrective, to ensure a higher rate of
success. This will help students to avoid practicing errors.
#14 – BRISK PACE: Keep the lesson moving to promote on-task behavior and optimize academic time, while making
sure students have time to think and respond adequately.
#15 – HELP STUDENTS ORGANIZE KNOWLEDGE: Show connections to other skills in lessons. This will make it
easier for students to retrieve information.
#16 – DISTRIBUTED & CUMULATIVE PRACTICE: This is the “YOU DO” portion of the lesson. Make sure students
have plenty of time to practice new skills, coupled with previously learned ones to practice and further
connections.
Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2011). The Foundations of Explicit Instruction. In Explicit Instruction: Effective & Efficient Teaching (1st ed., pp. 2-3). New York, New York: Guilford Press
Scaffolding Guide
Instructional scaffoldingis a process through which a teacher adds supports for students in order to enhance learning and aid in the mastery of tasks. The teacher does this by systematically building on students’ experiences and knowledge as they are learning new skills. These supports are temporary and adjustable. As students master the assigned tasks, the supports are gradually removed.
- Scaffolding should be completed first with students, then for those students who are still struggling; differentiating by modifying an assignment and/or making accommodations for a student, such as providing a different text or alternative task should be considered.
- Providing support, or scaffolding, is a critical component in teaching new tasks with multiple steps. Many teachers do this naturally when teaching a new task or strategy, whereas others need to purposefully incorporate scaffolding into their teaching styles. It is important to remember, however, that even when students have learned the purpose of a strategy and have memorized its steps, they may still not be ready to use the strategy independently.
- Students with learning disabilities are often not actively engaged in the learning process when being taught a new skill. Instead, they are only going through the motions of the task. Sometimes students with learning disabilities do not understand the underlying concepts to which they should be attending during each step. For this reason, teachers should observe their students closely to ensure that they understand the information being demonstrated. Having students demonstrate the task independently will help teachers to determine whether the students are learning.
Keep in Mind
- Although a teacher may scaffold instruction in a number of ways, it is nevertheless important to note that there are two critical elements to keep in mind when using instructional scaffolding:
Modeling: Throughout the learning process, students should be able to watch their teacher model, or demonstrate, each step in the task or strategy multiple times. Such modeling and repetition allow students to understand both how to perform each step and why each step is important. Knowinghowandwhyleads to students’ successful performance of the task or strategy.
Practice: Students, either individually or as a group, must have the opportunity to work collaboratively with the teacher to practice the task or the strategy.
- It is critical for teachers to scaffold by continuing to model the steps or procedures until correct independent performance is achieved.
Tips
- When students are first learning a skill, limit the difficulty and length of the sources used. Doing so allows students to focus on the skill being taught and they don’t become hindered by the content. Start with shorter pieces of text when reading or reading aloud to students. Use texts that are well organized and straightforward in style then gradually move on to higher levels of complexity.
- Teachers can scaffold literacy practices such as summarization, taking notes, etc..by taking students through each step with increasingly more student input and less teacher input.
- Scaffolding materials can be with the use of written prompts or cues to help the students perform a task or use a strategy. This may take the form of cue sheets, graphic organizers, charts, glossaries, or guided examples that list the steps necessary to perform a task. Students can use these as a reference, to reduce confusion and frustration. Ideally, the prompts and cues should be phased out over time as students master the steps of the task or strategy. The teacher provides students with partially filled out graphic organizers, maps, question prompts of a text. The students’ initial task is to fill in the missing information. As the student’s practice and their skills progress, the teacher can provide less and less supportive tools, allowing students eventually complete it individually.
ISBE Foundational Services: Writing to Read, 2016