An Introduction to Explicit Teaching and Modeling
The yellow rays on the floor in all of the hallways at Steeplechase Elementary can be traced back to a sun design embedded in the flooring of a space the school calls the Winner’s Circle.
The Boone County school, which opened in August of 2021, is settling into its campus at the rear of the Steeplechase neighborhood and serves the Walton and Richwood communities. The Winner’s Circle, where two hallways meet,
is a round, collaboration space with expansive windows. The design of the new school is open and airy, and while the new building includes some beautiful spaces with natural light pouring in from the outside world, the light at Steeplechase comes from within. “We have the best people here,” said Principal Lisa Reising. One of those bright spots is STEAM teacher Heather Jones, who Mrs. Reising highlighted as a teacher whose Explicit Teaching and Modeling practices elevate her students. As a result of her STEAM schedule, Ms. Jones has groups of students two days in a row. She uses that schedule to employ a gradual release of responsibility structure, where she models for students the first day, and students then become responsible for mastering the skill collaboratively and/or individually.
Background
The Kentucky Department of Education has identified Explicit Teaching and Modeling as an Evidence Based Instructional Practice. According to KDE’s anchor document on the practice, “Explicit teaching is a system of step-by-step instructional approaches in which teachers examine the individual elements they are planning to teach and continually check for student understanding. Two essential instructional approaches within the explicit teaching system are direct instruction and modeling” (KDE, 2022). Direct instruction provides students with modeling, scaffolding and practice when learning new concepts (KDE, 2022.) Direct instruction, according to John Hattie’s research, can create more than a year’s worth of growth in a year’s worth of time with an effect size of .59 (KDE, 2022). Modeling is a strategy where a teacher actively demonstrates the concept, and the learner learns by observing the teacher. Modeling can be a very effective starting point for new learning. Modeling is often accompanied with a gradual release of responsibility model, where the cognitive load shifts from being the responsibility of the teacher to being a joint responsibility of both teacher and learner and finally shifts completely to the learner.
What it Looks Like in Schools
While some may assume direct instruction means more traditional, lecture-based lessons where the teacher speaks and the students listen and take notes, that is not necessarily the case. Teachers can cultivate learning experiences with modeling, scaffolding and practice in many different ways. Direct Instruction often includes the following lesson sequence:
1. Review of previous learning briefly at the beginning of the lesson going from known to new information.
2. State goals at the beginning of the lesson.
3. Present new material in small steps with practice for students after each step.
4. Provide clear, detailed instructions and explanations.
5. Include a high level of active practice for all students.
6. Check for student understanding, ask many questions, and collect responses from all students.
7. Guide students during initial practice.
8. Use explicit instruction and practice for seatwork tasks, monitoring students as they work
(Fisher, et al., 2020). (KDE)
Direct Instruction is most effective when the teacher chunks the content, provides time to reflect on and process the content and allows students to record and present the content. (KDE, 2022).
Modeling can take many shapes and forms. According to KDE’s anchor document, four effective approaches to modeling are as follows:
Worked examples- (focus on the process) step-by-step example of how to perform a task
Work samples- (focus on the end product) serve as example for students to see how the work could look
Think Aloud- allow students to hear the thoughts of the teacher’s brain, as they communicate their thinking process out loud to the students
Think-Alongs - engage the students in a planned think aloud process by communicating a series of statements related to learning the concept, as discussed in this article titled “Show and Tell” by ASCD.
Getting Started
Modeling is a strategy that can be applied to so many contents, classrooms and lessons. Choose a concept that has been difficult for your students and plan to do a Think-Along using the method highlighted by KDE and ASCD for one skill in particular. Engage with your students as they think alongside you, and watch their understanding grow. It is our team’s goal that this month’s focus of the teachNKY Collaborative connects you with other educators, ideas and practices that will allow you to try something new to improve student outcomes and elevate your classroom culture.
Until next time…keep growing the Bluegrass.
Jess
References:
Fisher, D., Frey, N. (2019). Show & Tell: A Video Column / Don't Just Think Aloud, Think Along. Retrieved from https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/dont-just-think-aloud-think-along
KDE. (2022). Explicit teaching and modeling: evidence based practice #3. Retrieved from https://education.ky.gov/curriculum/standards/kyacadstand/Documents/EBIP_3_Explicit_Teaching_and_Modeling.pdf
