5E Learning Cycle

The 5E Instructional Model consists of five phases: (1) Engage, (2) Explore, (3) Explain, (4) Elaborate, and (5) Evaluate. This framework is designed to create a structured yet flexible learning experience that puts students at the heart of the process. It encourages learners to actively investigate, build their understanding of scientific concepts, and apply their knowledge to real-world phenomena or engineering challenges. 

The 5E Instructional Model was developed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) under the leadership of Dr. Roger Bybee in the late 1980s. Dr. Bybee and his team created this model as a framework for designing science education lessons that align with constructivist learning theories, emphasizing inquiry-based and student-centered learning. It has since been widely adopted across various educational disciplines.

According to Bybee & Landes (1990), the 5E Instructional Model is a framework for designing lessons, grounded in cognitive psychology, constructivist learning theory, and proven best practices in education. Bybee (1997) argues that “using this approach, students redefine, reorganize, elaborate, and change their initial concepts through self-reflection and interaction with their peers and their environment. Learners interpret objects and phenomena, and internalize those interpretations in terms of their current conceptual understanding” (p. 176).

1. Engage Phase

In the Engage phase, students focus their attention on a specific phenomenon, object, problem, situation, or event. Activities during this phase are designed to activate prior knowledge, draw connections between past and current learning experiences, and guide students toward the key questions and objectives of the lesson. This phase sets the stage for the learning process by sparking curiosity and encouraging students to think critically about the topic.

The teacher’s role in the Engage phase is to introduce the instructional task, present the context, and establish rules and procedures for the activities. Teachers also facilitate initial discussions, helping to uncover students’ existing ideas, experiences, and language, which serve as valuable resources for the upcoming lessons.

The teacher or a curriculum activity draws on students’ prior knowledge to spark curiosity and introduce a new concept. Short, engaging tasks are used to connect previous learning to the current topic, uncover existing ideas, and focus students’ thinking on the desired learning objectives.

Student Behaviors

• Asks questions such as “Why does this occur?”, “What do I already know?”, “What can I discover?”, or “How can this be solved?”

• Expresses curiosity and shows interest in the topic.

• Engages by sharing observations, offering ideas, and creating initial models.

• Articulates their current understanding of the concept.

Teacher’s role

• Presents thought-provoking questions or challenges.

• Encourages responses that reveal students’ prior knowledge and understanding.

• Helps students connect new ideas to their previous experiences.

• Clearly outlines learning goals and refers to them during the lesson.

• Invites students to share their thoughts and raise their own questions.

• Encourages responses that reveal students’ knowledge and thoughts about the concepts.

2. Explore Phase

In the Explore phase, students delve into activities that allow them to investigate and experiment with new ideas. These activities provide shared, hands-on experiences that serve as a foundation for deeper understanding of scientific and technological concepts. Through exploration, students interact with objects, events, or situations, encouraging them to question, identify patterns, test variables, and uncover causal relationships. This phase fosters active engagement and promotes critical thinking.

The teacher’s role during the Explore phase is to act as a facilitator, providing opportunities for students to interact with materials and guiding them as they analyze their findings. Teachers encourage exploration by prompting students to record observations, test their ideas, and develop preliminary explanations or models.

Exploration activities offer students a shared foundation of experiences that help uncover their existing ideas, including misconceptions, while fostering conceptual growth. Through hands-on tasks, such as laboratory experiments, students draw on prior knowledge to generate new insights, explore questions and possibilities, and design and carry out initial investigations.

Student Behaviors

• Tests and refines predictions or hypotheses; develops new ones based on findings.

• Engages in collaborative problem-solving and discussions.

• Plans and conducts investigations, collecting and analyzing data.

• Experiments with different strategies to solve problems or answer questions.

• Creates initial models or explanations.

• Compares and contrasts their ideas with those of their peers.

• Withholds judgment.

Teacher’s role

• Presents clear questions or challenges to guide exploration.

• Facilitates shared experiences that all students can draw upon.

• Observes and listens as students interact and engage.

• Acts as a resource, offering guidance and support without providing answers.

• Encourages collaboration and discussion among students.

• Asks thought-provoking questions to deepen understanding and redirect efforts when necessary.

• Allows sufficient time for students to explore and work through problems independently.

• Pays attention to and monitors students’ interactions.

• Serves as a guide and advisor for students.

3. Explain Phase

The Explain phase has two key components. First, students present their initial models, ideas, and explanations based on their experiences in the Engage and Explore phases. This allows them to articulate their understanding and receive feedback from peers. Second, the teacher introduces new resources, information, and formal scientific or technological concepts to deepen and refine student learning. Using this new knowledge, along with input from their peers, students revise their models and explanations, building a stronger, evidence-based understanding. In engineering contexts, students begin designing solutions to problems based on specified criteria.

The explanation phase directs students’ focus to specific elements of their engagement and exploration activities, allowing them to showcase their understanding, skills, and behaviors. This phase also serves as an opportunity for teachers to formally introduce key concepts, processes, or skills. Students articulate their understanding of the topic, while teacher-led or curriculum-provided explanations guide them toward a more in-depth comprehension, making this a crucial stage in the learning process.

Student Behaviors

• Shares models, explanations, or solutions with peers.

• Actively listens to and critiques the explanations of others.

• Provides evidence from investigations to support explanations.

• Uses appropriate terminology and scientific language.

• Compares new ideas with previous understanding.

• Documents current thinking and understanding.

• Refines models and explanations in response to new evidence or reasoning.

• References prior activities.

Teacher’s role

• Encourages students to explain concepts in their own words.

• Prompts students to provide evidence and clarification for their ideas.

• Delivers formal definitions, explanations, and background information through resources like mini-lectures, texts, or digital content.

• Builds on student contributions to link their ideas with formal concepts.

• Provides time for collaborative comparison of ideas and encourages revisions based on new insights.

• Builds on students’ prior experiences to explain concepts.

4. Elaborate Phase

The Elaborate phase focuses on helping students deepen and extend their understanding by applying what they have learned to new or related situations. This phase addresses lingering misconceptions and strengthens students’ ability to connect concepts and skills to different contexts. Elaborative activities encourage students to transfer their knowledge, explore similar phenomena, and tackle new challenges, promoting a more comprehensive grasp of the material.

Teachers build on and expand students’ conceptual understanding and skills by introducing new experiences. These experiences help students gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding, acquire additional knowledge, and refine their skills. Students then apply their learning by engaging in further activities that reinforce and extend their understanding.

Student Behaviors

• Applies learned vocabulary, concepts, and skills to novel but related scenarios.

• Uses prior knowledge to ask questions, propose solutions, design experiments, or solve problems.

• Draws logical conclusions based on evidence and reasoning.

• Evaluates and critiques the models, explanations, or arguments of others using evidence.

• Makes meaningful connections between new learning and previous experiences.

• Effectively communicates their understanding to peers or teachers.

• Verifies comprehension within the group.

• Documents findings and interpretations.

Teacher’s role

• Encourages students to apply previously introduced terms, definitions, and explanations in new contexts.

• Guides students to use their understanding to solve problems or address challenges in unfamiliar situations.

• Provides additional evidence or resources to support further exploration.

• Reinforces the use of scientific language and precise terminology.

• Asks probing questions to help students synthesize information and draw sound conclusions based on their investigations.

• Encourages students to review existing data and evidence by asking questions like, “What do you already know?” and “Why do you think that?”.

• Encourages students to apply previously introduced formal terms, definitions, and explanations.

5. Evaluate Phase

The evaluation phase allows students to reflect on their learning and assess their skills while giving teachers the chance to measure student progress in meeting the lesson’s objectives.

The Evaluate phase provides opportunities for students to reflect on their learning and receive feedback on their progress. Informal evaluation can occur throughout the learning process, while formal assessments, such as quizzes or projects, may take place at the end of the lesson sequence. This phase helps students self-assess their understanding and skills while allowing teachers to measure individual progress toward the lesson’s objectives and learning goals.

Student Behaviors

• Offers constructive feedback to peers.

• Assesses their own knowledge and progress.

• Reviews work using rubrics or predefined criteria.

• Reflects on how their current understanding compares to what they knew before.

• Asks deeper questions that extend learning or explore new ideas.

• Demonstrates mastery of key concepts, crosscutting themes, and scientific practices.

• Responds to open-ended questions using evidence, observations, and prior explanations.

• Poses relevant questions to inspire further exploration and inquiry.

Teacher’s role

• Poses thought-provoking, open-ended questions like, “What evidence supports this idea?”, “How would you explain this?”, “What do you know about X?” “How would you explain X?” and “What evidence supports your explanation?”

• Observes and documents students’ demonstrations of understanding and skill application.

• Utilizes a variety of assessment tools to gather evidence of learning, such as projects, discussions, or written work.

• Provides students with opportunities for self-assessment and reflection on their progress.

• Offers students formative feedback to refine their thinking and actions.

References:

• Bybee, R. (1997). Achieving scientific literacy: From purposes to practices. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publications.

• Bybee, R., & Landes, N. M. (1990). Science for life and living: An elementary school science program from Biological Sciences Improvement Study (BSCS). The American Biology Teacher, 52(2), 92-98.

What Is the 5E Model?

The 5E model uses a constructivist approach to learning, which means it focuses on students constructing knowledge from experiences. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) initially developed the 5E model, or center inquiry practices, in a cycle that provided a process to facilitate learning. Since then, the model has been widely adopted and adapted by a variety of groups, but the initial goal remains the same.

The 5E instructional model consists of five phases: engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Throughout the process, students work collaboratively to observe, investigate, analyze, and draw conclusions. Meanwhile, the teacher serves as a facilitator, guiding students in the learning process. This framework can be used to teach STEM subjects, like math and science, to introduce and investigate new concepts. Plus the 5E model provides students the opportunity to explore new concepts critically and retain information through meaningful learning experiences. In fact, research shows that the 5E model is tied to "a significantly better acquisition of scientific concepts” compared to traditional textbook focused instruction.

1. Engage

Engage is the first phase of the 5E model. During this phase, teachers are activating students’ prior knowledge to identify what students know or do not know about the upcoming concept. As teachers tap into students’ background knowledge, students can make connections and teachers can identify any knowledge gaps. This phase also serves to pique students’ interest and curiosity about the topic at hand. To engage students, ask open-ended questions, lead a class discussion, or view videos to introduce a concept.

During the Engage Phase Students:

• Ask questions

• Share observations and ideas

• Express current understanding

During the Engage Phase Teachers:

• Raise questions

• Help students make connections

• Invite students to share ideas

2. Explore

During the Explore phase, teachers are guiding students in exploration and problem-solving in a concrete way. Through hands-on activities, such as creating models or conducting experiments, students can investigate the new concept and discuss ideas and observations with their peers.

During the Explore Phase Students:

• Test predictions

• Plan and conduct an investigation

• Problem-solve

• Compare ideas with others

During the Explore Phase Teachers:

• Observe and listen to students interacting

• Encourage collaboration

• Ask probing questions

• Provide time to problem-solve

3. Explain

The Explain phase is run by the teacher. During this phase, the teacher facilitates a whole-class discussion by asking questions, comparing student responses, and helping to guide the class towards the key ideas being taught.

During the Explain Phase Students:

• Record understanding

• Explain using evidence

• Listen to other explanations

• Share their possible solutions

During the Explain Phase Teachers:

• Ask for clarification from students

• Build on student explanation

• Provide definitions and information

• Encourage students to share their understanding

4. Elaborate

During the Elaborate phase, students have the space to apply what they learned. They can take their new knowledge to form a new hypothesis, explore real-world scenarios, or create a presentation to share with their peers. This phase allows students to extend their learning and create richer connections to concepts.

During the Elaborate Phase Students:

• Draw conclusions

• Make connections between new and prior experiences

• Use information to ask new questions

• Apply explanations to new situations

During the Elaborate Phase Teachers:

• Ask questions that help draw conclusions

• Provide additional reasoning

• Reinforce use of vocabulary terms

• Encourage students to apply learned concept to new situations

5. Evaluate

At this phase, the teacher assesses student learning through formal and/or informal assessments. Informal assessments, like exit tickets or oral presentations, or formal assessments, like tests or quizzes, can be used to determine whether students understood the key concepts. During this phase, students can also evaluate their learning using self-assessment tools like rubrics.

During the Evaluate Phase Students:

• Evaluate their progress

• Give peers feedback

• Check work with rubric or criteria

• Ask open-ended questions

During the Evaluate Phase Teachers:

• Use various assessment tools to evaluate student understanding

• Provide students opportunity to assess progress

• Record notes of student understanding

• Answer open-ended questions

The 5E instructional model empowers students to lean into their curiosity and explore the world around them. Implement the 5E model to guide students in meaningful, inquiry-based learning. 

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