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At its simplest, explicit instruction means teaching important concepts and skills directly and clearly rather than expecting students to learn them incidentally (Spear-Swerling, 2018). The teacher decides the sequence of learning opportunities based on student needs and curriculum requirements. The teacher also leads the lesson, explaining new concepts clearly (Ashman, 2018). Explicit teaching involves telling students directly what they will be learning and what they need to do to be successful.

Key components of explicit instruction

In a review of research, Hughes and colleagues (2017) identified five essential components of explicit instruction. These were: (1) breaking down a target skill or strategy into chunks; (2) modelling with think-alouds how a proficient reader or writer uses the skill or strategy; (3) scaffolding and supporting students as they develop the skill or strategy; (4) posing frequent questions and offering affirmative feedback; and (5) providing opportunities for students to practise the skill or strategy independently (see Figure 1.3). These components are now unpacked in turn.

Figure 1.3 Fiv e components of explicit instruction

1. Breaking down new skills into chunks

2. Modelling new skills with think-alouds

3. Scaffolding students to learn new skills

4. Posing questions with affirmative feedback

5. Providing opportunities for independent practice

Breaking down the target skill or strategy into chunks

Teachers make the teaching of complex skills and strategies explicit when they break them down into chunks that are taught in a step-by-step manner (Rupley et al., 2009). Such a process requires the teacher to have a deep understanding of the skill or strategy and how it can be broken down as part of the planning process. Teaching skills and strategies in this way enhances student learning since they only focus on a limited amount of new information at a time, which works within the constraints of their working memory (Ashman, 2018). As an example, the teacher might break down the complex skill of narrative writing into a sequence of lessons about the genre’s typical stages, the phases that make up the stages, the use of language features that help to achieve the purpose of the genre, and so on. Once students have mastered a chunk of the skill or strategy, they move onto another, often with the previously taught and new chunks practised cumulatively, so that all chunks are eventually mastered and synthesised (Swanson & Deshler, 2003).