Sixteen elements of Explicit Instruction By Anita Archer & Charles Hughes

Explicit Instruction/Teaching Versus Direct Instruction What is the difference?

Explicit Instruction as an Alternative D.I Teacher directed Structured explicit, clear Emphasizes teacher’s role in maximizing academic learning time. Learner Centred Approaches Learner centred Discovery Oriented Emphasizes learner’s role in constructing learning. Teacher a s a facilitator or guide. Tailored toward learners who are independent and self –directed. E. I Teacher structures and directs the learning process. Structured, clear, explicit Emphasizes teacher’s role in maximizing academic learning time and the learner’s role in actively constructing learning. Conceived for use in in inclusive classrooms. Instruction as usual = planning for and teaching all students. Accommodations for diverse learners are integrated into the framework. Teaching explicitly occurs in all subject areas. The 2013 NAPLAN Test Reporting Handbook in Implications for teaching each area asks the teacher to refer to Sunlanda where teachers are asked to explicitly teach.

1. Focus instruction on critical content Teach: Skills Strategies vocabulary terms Concepts rules that will empower students in the future and match the students instructional needs. Investigations embed all the skills and strategies they have learnt explicitly Explicit Instruction is empowering students with knowledge that they need to know.

2. Sequence skills logically Teach easier skills before harder skills Teach high frequency skills before skills that are less frequent in usage Ensure mastery of prerequisites to a skill before teaching the skill itself. Separate skills and strategies that are similar and thus may be confusing to students Before teaching a skill break down the components and teach the easier skills first. Pretest the students before teaching a skill to ensure they have knowledge of what is a prerequisite for that skill Teach only one spelling rule at a time – but compare it with non examples. Teach regrouping separately in maths but then use non-regrouping non examples afterwards

3. Break down complex skills and strategies into smaller instructional units Teach in small steps By segmenting complex skills into smaller instructional units of new material you will be addressing: Cognitive overload Information processing demands Capacity of students’ working memory Once each step is mastered it is important to then synthesise the units. (Teach as a whole skill/concept) If you try to teach too much in one go they will remember it one day and have forgotten it the next Sandwich effect- whole – part- whole

4. Design organised and focused lesson Make sure lessons are organised and focused in order to make optimal use of instruction time. Organised lessons are: on topic well sequenced contain no irrelevant digressions. Relevant digressions can be very meaningful but students are very good at moving on to irrelevant details

5. Begin lessons with a clear statement of the lessons goals and your expectations Tell students clearly: what is to be learnt – they achieve better if they understand the instructional goals and outcomes expected why it is important – they are more likely to be more motivated if they are told how the information or skill presented will help them. Students who are find a skill difficult will need to know where in the “real world” they will need to use that skill to be motivated enough to put in extra effort

6. Review prior skills and knowledge before beginning instruction Provide a review of relevant information. Verify that students have the prerequisite skills and knowledge to learn the skill being taught. Provide an opportunity to link the new skill with other related skills Pre-testing is important to assess where the students are at. For example a student in year 5 who has a spelling age of 14+ does not need to learn to spell but they could be learning other skills that will assist them such as the meaning of root words

7. Provide step by step demonstrations Model the skill Clarify the thinking processes needed to complete a task or procedure by thinking aloud as you perform the skill. Clearly demonstrate the target skill or strategy in order to show students a model of proficient performance. I Do- it is very important you demonstrate the skill that you want them to learn & understand – auditory, visually and kinaesthetically

8. Use clear and concise language Use consistent, unambiguous wording and terminology The complexity of the language you use should depend on the students’ receptive vocabulary ability level. When selecting appropriate vocabulary for explicit vocabulary instruction you need to: Select words that are unknown Select words that are important for the student to understand the passage/ unit/ skill/ concept Select words that students will hear, read, write and say in the future Select words that are difficult to learn and need interpretation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NMzKYWRBJg You need to teach vocabulary specifically- you cannot just assume students know the meaning of words. Subject area vocabulary needs to be taught specifically for that subject eg – Maths – the word- tables has a very different meaning in Maths than it does when referring to furniture

9. Provide an adequate range of examples and non- examples In order to establish the boundaries of when and when not to apply a skill/strategy/concept/rule, provide a wide range of examples and non- examples A wide range of examples illustrates situations when the skill will be used or applied Presenting a range of non- examples reduces the possibility that students will use the skill inappropriately Always use non- examples to imbed a skill – eg a spelling rule, a maths concept

10. Provide guided and supported practice To promote initial success and build confidence, regulate the difficulty of practice opportunities during the lesson. Provide students with guidance while they are demonstrating the skill. When students demonstrate success, you can gradually increase task difficulty/complexity as you decrease the level of guidance you are providing Reading Comprehension- year 3:- http://www.teachingacenglish.edu.au/ You do- Gradual release of responsibility- see next slide

Students need to learn to be independent learners through a gradual release of responsibility

11. Require frequent responses Plan for a high level of student – teacher interaction via the use of questioning Have the students respond frequently – kinaesthetically (actions), orally (words) or in writing This will : Allow students to interact through their learning style Help them focus on the lesson content Provide opportunities for student elaboration Assist you in checking for understanding Keep the students active and attentive. Volunteer & non- volunteer responses- using paddle-pop sticks Use of hands on materials are needed – regardless of age/year level

12. Monitor student performance closely By carefully watching and listening to student responses you can: Verify the students’ mastery of the skill Make timely adjustments in your instructions if the students are making mistakes Provide clear and concise feedback about how well they are doing Positive feedback- not just good, well done etc

Concentric Circles 1. Describe how you would provide guided and supportive practice in a reading or maths lesson. 2. Brainstorm ways that you could get the class as a whole to respond orally and kinaesthetically in a literacy or a numeracy lesson. 3. What timely adjustments in your instructions would you make if you observed that the students are making mistakes. Concentric circles- two circle – one inner, one outer- talk to the person opposite. Second question- outside circle move- one or two people clockwise.

13. Provide immediate affirmative and corrective feedback Follow up on students’ responses as quickly as you can Immediate feedback to students about the accuracy of their responses helps ensure high rates of success and reduces the likelihood of practicing errors SLANT (Sit up, Listen, Ask/Answer, Nod, Track Teacher) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7y0yd8H4tM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCYPgnWa0mM Correct feedback important – if not corrected/ looks right, mistakes can become imbedded- eg spelling- thay (they), wos (was etc) SLANT- first vignette- Anita Archer teaching year 7 students about SLANT, second vignette- song

14. Deliver the lesson at a brisk pace Deliver instruction at an appropriate pace to optimise: Instruction time The amount of content that can be presented On-task behaviour The rate of presentation needs to be brisk but include a reasonable amount of time for the students’ thinking/processing especially when they are learning something new. The desired pace should be neither so slow that the students get bored nor so quick that they can’t keep up Difficult to find the right pace- always remember your goal for the lesson and tune into the students level of understanding

15. Help students organise knowledge As students can have difficulty seeing how some concepts and skills fit together, you need to use teaching techniques that make these connections more apparent or explicit. Well organised and connected information makes it easier for students to retrieve information and facilitate its integration with new material Mind-maps, graphic organisers etc

Silent shuffle 1. Name affirmative feedback responses and corrective feedback responses you would use in your classroom. 2. Deliver the lesson at a brisk pace- what does this mean? 3. What would teaching techniques that make connections between skills/concepts more apparent or explicit look like? 4. How would you review prior skills and knowledge before beginning instruction? 5. Name one explicit instruction element that is really important for an effective teacher to use. 6. Name one explicit instruction element that you have found has not been used by some teachers effectively. Questions on large posters- people write up responses and add a response or tick if they agree with what has been written. All done in silence

16. Provide distribute and cumulative practice Distributed practice refers to providing multiple opportunities to practise a skill over time Cumulative practice refers to providing practise opportunities that address both previously and newly acquired skills. By providing students with multiple practise attempts they are more likely to retain the skill as well as be able to do it automatically. (cognitive/ associative task) http://www.teachingacenglish.edu.au/ Distributed practice- rote learning- maths- tables, number facts. English- spelling Cumulative practice – building a skill-maths- place value, operations. English- genre writing, types of comprehension