American classrooms are filled with disengaged learners like this one. Why? Because ineffective educational traditions dominate our schools.
Don’t be fooled….
Seems like a great scene right? Eager students with their hands raised hoping to get called on by the teacher. I know it seems like a picture-perfect classroom. I promise you it isn’t.
Lectures with hand-raising are educational traditions that do not lead to learning and mastery. Why?
Because learning requires the repeated, reinforced practice of skills.
EVERY student in a classroom deserves the opportunity to respond and receive feedback from the teacher – not just the lucky one chosen to answer.
The school day involves teachers doing a lot of talking with the occasional opportunity for students to raise their hands. When teachers do all the talking, students don’t do much learning.
Students spend most of the school day staring into space, daydreaming, fidgeting, or sleeping.
Discovery-based models also dominate education. In this scenario, the teacher gives clues and students guess answers. The result? Learners without a firm mastery of essential academic skills and a tragic lack of confidence.
Explicit Instruction
Explicit instruction involves explicitly stating the concept to be learned and having the class repeatedly state it back until they can do so fluently and without prompting. It is fast, effective, fun, and engaging. It also ensures that every student in a class learns AND masters the concept.
Characteristics
- Clear, concise communication of concepts to be learned
- Active, choral responding by the entire class
- Immediate feedback provided by the teacher
- Rapid pace
- Repeated practice opportunities
With explicit instruction, all learners can acquire academic expertise. What are you waiting for? Let’s help your child discover their greatness!
xo