Explicit instruction is often misunderstood and sometimes even criticized. Yet it bears little resemblance to traditional teaching. It refers to a structured form of instruction in which the teacher’s activity—essential to the process—aims, through clear explanations, demonstrations, and guided practice, to promote students’ active engagement and a deeper understanding of the learning content.
A large body of scientific research has demonstrated the effectiveness of explicit instruction in the learning of new concepts, across diverse student populations and subject areas. Explicit instruction can also focus on the teaching of strategies for completing loosely structured (complex) tasks, as well as on more general strategies such as learning how to plan, monitor, and evaluate one’s own work, thereby fostering students’ metacognition and self-regulation. In short, explicit instruction clearly has its place within teachers’ repertoire of instructional practices.
