Explicit Instruction: What is it and why is it important?
By Kim Lockhart, French as a Second Language, Special Education teacher and Science of Reading advocate
Learn more about Kim here from our friends at Dystinct Magazine.
What is Explicit Instruction?
Explicit instruction is an instructional approach that is teacher-directed, not student-led, and does not promote guessing answers. Research indicates that explicit instruction leads to significant improvements in student achievement, particularly in reading and mathematics (Archer and Hughes, 2011) and that it is especially beneficial for students with learning disabilities (Swanson and Sachse-Lee, 2000).
In my class, I use explicit instruction to tell or explain the meaning of a new word
Example:
- Prefix: "un-" (meaning "not" or "the opposite of")
- Root: Word/Base Word: "truth" (the core meaning)
- Suffix: "-ful" (meaning "full of")
Here’s the word in a sentence:
No one believed the boy about the wolf after he had been untruthful too many times.
Head Body Tail
I also use explicit instruction for my phonics lessons.
Example:
English: “This is the letter ‘f’ and it says /f/ like the first sound in the word ‘fish’.
French: “Voici la graphème ‘oi’. Les lettres ‘oi’ font le son /wa/ comme le mot ‘oiseau’!”
Phonics Song for Children
I also use it to give students the background knowledge they need to comprehend a new text.
Example:
“Today we’re going to read a story in a rural setting. Unlike a city, a rural setting is a place that is out in the countryside and usually has lots of open space, farms, forests, and small communities where people live farther apart. Rural areas are quieter and have fewer buildings, roads, and stores than cities do.”
From my experience, explicit instruction sets all of my students up for success and is a more equitable approach to literacy instruction because it does not capitalize on the students who already know the answers, which are typically the privileged few who have been read to at home or who can afford opportunities and experiences to grow their knowledge coming into school. Instead, it tells all of the students what they need to know to become stronger, more literate children, regardless of where they come from.
What is Explicit Instruction?
Families and educators need to know what explicit instruction is. They need to know that it is teacher-directed instruction that is backed by decades of research, essential for some students but beneficial for all.
They also need to know what it is NOT. It is NOT boring, drill-and-kill instruction that takes the joy out of learning. Unfortunately, there are many proponents of student-led instruction, or discovery-learning, who believe that teachers should be the “guide on the side” and not the “sage on the stage”. However, decades of research continually shows that discovery learning places excessive cognitive load on students, making it difficult for them to acquire new knowledge efficiently (Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark, 2006).
Teachers need to be trained in the Science of Learning in their teacher training programs so they are aware of the most effective instructional approaches that improve student learning outcomes, including retrieval practice, interleaving, and repeated practice of new skills and concepts! Without this knowledge, teachers are left scrambling to try to figure out why students are not learning through a discovery-based approach, which results in many students needlessly falling further and further behind in school.
Additionally, families need to be aware of explicit instruction and the research that supports it in contrast to student-directed learning so they can advocate for it in their children’s schools. Families cannot advocate for things they are unaware of! If more families knew that teachers were not trained in explicit instruction, they would be stronger advocates for change in the way teachers are trained both in the faculties of education and in the school districts where they teach.
How is explicit instruction different from discovery or inquiry-based learning?
While discovery learning may foster creativity and engagement in advanced learners, research overwhelmingly supports explicit instruction as the most effective approach for ensuring accurate knowledge acquisition, particularly in foundational learning stages. Research strongly supports the effectiveness of explicit instruction over discovery learning, particularly for novice learners. Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark (2006) argue that discovery-based approaches impose a high cognitive load, making it difficult for students to process and retain new information efficiently. Their research demonstrates that minimally guided learning is less effective than structured, explicit teaching, especially in complex subject areas. Similarly, Klahr and Nigam (2004) conducted an experimental study showing that students who received direct instruction in scientific principles performed significantly better on later assessments than those who engaged in self-directed discovery learning.
Another one of my favourite authors, John Hattie (2009) synthesized research on instructional strategies and found that explicit instruction has a much higher effect size (0.75) compared to discovery learning, indicating greater positive impacts on student achievement.
“Start by teaching them well with clear modelling and explaining, provide opportunities for guided practice and significant checking for understanding, then ensure students have mastered the foundational skills/knowledge by facilitating independent practice, giving feedback, and using retrieval practice in the days and weeks that follow. “ – Nathaniel Swain Inquiry learning - Not whether, but when.
Can explicit instruction be used to teach subjects other than literacy?
Explicit instruction can be and should be the instructional approach used in many other subject areas, particularly in mathematics, science, social studies, history, and geography which are very knowledge-based subject areas. Other subjects, such as art, physical education, and music, also require explicit instruction at the early stages to ensure students have the content knowledge and information they need to think critically about the decisions they make; but they cannot make informed decisions if they don’t have sufficient background knowledge to begin with. And we can not assume students have the background knowledge they need when they enter school.
“My very best math teaching eliminated struggle by breaking math down so it felt easy.” - Zach Groshell, PhD. author of Just Tell Them
More resources:
See Kim in action! Video link included.
S4E14: Kim Lockhart on Supporting L2 Learners with the Science of Reading with Zach Groshell
Book sample: Just Tell Them: The Power of Explanations and Explicit Teaching by Zach Groshell
In 2022, Kim was hired by the Ontario Ministry of Education as a Content Contributor to help revise the province’s language curriculum and align it with the reading research: Ontario’s new revised Language Curriculum, 2023.