Explicit & Direct Instruction

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Why it works

A large research base, including Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction, supports explicit instruction for teaching new and complex material: presenting content in small steps with clear explanations and worked examples, guiding practice with high success rates, checking for understanding frequently, and gradually releasing responsibility. This is particularly effective for novices, who benefit from guidance more than from unguided discovery.

The research: Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction; research on explicit instruction.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: plan an explicit lesson

Teachers leave with new content broken into explicit steps with guided practice and checks.

Pick new or complex content.
Break it into small steps with clear explanations and worked examples.
Plan guided practice with high success before independent work.
Build in frequent checks for understanding.

Explicit, not unguided, for new materialNovices learning complex content benefit from clear explanation, worked examples, and guided practice, not unguided discovery. Teach it explicitly, then release.

Facilitator notes

Small steps, clear explanations, and worked examples.
Guided practice with high success, and frequent checks.
Then release responsibility.

Do not throw novices into discoveryUnguided discovery overwhelms novices learning new material. Teach explicitly with worked examples and guided practice, then release responsibility.

Adapt it

Elementary and secondary: the same principles for new content.
All settings: small steps, worked examples, guided practice, checks.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Explicit Instruction: teach it clearly first

Effective for new content: small steps, worked examples, guided practice with high success, frequent checks.

The new or complex content:
The small steps, explanations, and worked examples:
The guided practice with high success:
The frequent checks for understanding:
When I release to independent work:

Make it stick

Explicit, then release:

Teach new content explicitly.
Use worked examples and guided practice.
Bring an explicit lesson that worked to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't explicit instruction just lecturing?

No. It is structured teaching, small steps, worked examples, guided practice, frequent checks, and interaction, not a passive lecture. Students are actively practicing with support throughout.

Doesn't discovery learning work better?

For novices learning new or complex material, explicit instruction generally outperforms unguided discovery. Discovery can come once students have the foundation.

How is this different from gradual release?

Gradual release (I do, we do, you do) is the structure within explicit instruction. Explicit instruction is the broader approach: clear explanation, worked examples, guided practice, and checks.