Modeling and Practicing to Help Students Reach Academic Goals
Modeling and Practicing to Help Students Reach Academic Goals
Explicit Instruction Course: Module 5 Overview
This module begins a series of modules on the topic of explicit instruction. Explicit instruction is about modeling and practicing to help students reach academic goals. We focus on explicit instruction in which the teacher selects an important objective, specifies the learning outcome, designs structured instructional experiences, explains directly, models the skill being taught, and provides scaffolded practice to achieve mastery. In this module, educators will learn about:
- How to select a clear objective
- How to model for practice
- How to practice with students.
This module is divided into three parts, with an introduction and closing. A 508 compliant version of the full PowerPoint presentation across all parts of the module is available below.
For questions related to course content, please contact ncii@air.org
Introduction: How do the supporting practices maximize engagement?
This video introduces explicit instruction with a focus on selecting an important objective, specifying the learning outcome, designing structured instructional experiences, explaining directly, modeling the skill being taught, and providing scaffolded practice to achieve mastery.
Worksheets & Activities
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Part 1: How do you create objectives with appropriate learning outcomes?
In Module 5, Part 1, you will learn how to create objectives with appropriate learning outcomes. Teachers will learn:
- Why objectives are relevant within DBI.
- How to select objectives based on student performance relative to goals.
- How to create focused objectives that describe the specific learning outcome that shows mastery.
Worksheets & Activities
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Part 2: What are the characteristics of highly effective models?
Part 2 focuses on the importance of modeling. Teachers will learn about the characteristics of a clear explanation, how to design planned examples, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of instructional models.
Worksheets & Activities
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Part 3: When and how should students practice in explicit instruction lessons?
Part 3 continues the discussion on explicit instruction by moving on from modeling to practice. The focus is on how to:
- decide when students are ready for practice
- provide guided practice
- provide independent practice
- decide the best next step based on practice
Worksheets & Activities
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Closing: What are the next steps?
The closing video wraps up the discussion on modeling and practice to help students reach academic goals. The methods learned in Module 5 are placed in the context of the DBI framework. The lecture includes a review of the checklist for creating objectives, modeling and practice. Finally, the Module concludes with a classroom application activity.
Coaching Materials and Facilitation Guide
"Coaching/Facilitator Guide" helps facilitate implementation, reflection, and feedback. It is intended for use by external (i.e., SEA or LEA staff, faculty, project-based coaches) or internal (i.e., school-based instructional coaches) coaches working directly with in-service educators who are learning and practicing the course content. Additionally, materials within the coaching/facilitator guide can be adapted by faculty as they prepare pre-service educators. The goal for coaching/facilitation is to ensure that educators are practicing the content they are learning and receiving feedback to improve their instruction. Included in this guide are: (a) sample communication emails, (b) a master checklist, (c) a discussion guide with important talking points, and (d) a fidelity form that can be completed by a coach/facilitator when observing classroom instruction.