Action Step of the Week: Explicit Modeling
Break the model to demonstrate the "how"
Action Step of the Week
Every time you plan an explicit model, prepare the “how” to master the skill:
Review the objective and exit ticket
Create/find a similar question
Complete the question yourself
Write the 2-3 steps that you did to complete the question
Why?
Modeling and think-alouds are important because it:
1. Improves learning outcomes: John Hattie's meta-analysis found that direct instruction, which includes explicit modeling, has an effect size of 0.59, indicating more than one year's growth in one year.
2. Supports diverse learners: Explicit modeling is particularly beneficial for students who learn and think differently, English language learners, and those needing intensive intervention. It helps lighten the cognitive load for these students.
3. Enhances metacognition: Deliberate, purposeful modeling makes learning visible by verbalizing the teacher's reasoning aloud. This helps students develop critical metacognitive and self-regulatory skills.
4. Provides structured practice: Explicit modeling gives students, especially those who need more support, ample opportunities to practice skills with immediate feedback from the teacher.
5. Supports higher-order thinking: Contrary to some beliefs, explicit modeling can prepare students for more complex learning approaches like inquiry-based and project-based learning by giving them the foundational skills needed to engage in these activities.
Potential Evidence
The students struggle with initial practice; they are slow to start.
Students produce inconsistent work.
Questions to Ask Yourself
How do students do when released to do any form of practice?
How long does it take for the majority of the students to begin a practice task?
How many students are getting correct answers?
To what extent do students know how to be successful on the task(s)?
What patterns do you see across work?
At what point in the gradual release cycle is there a breakdown? Is it modeling or guided practice?
Glossary of Terms
Explicit Modeling: A teaching strategy where the teacher demonstrates a specific skill, process, or concept clearly and step-by-step for students. This provides students with a clear example of what success looks like.
Think-Aloud: A technique used by the teacher during modeling to verbalize their thought process while completing a task. It helps students understand the reasoning and decision-making behind the steps taken.
Key Points: During explicit modeling, the teacher highlights the most important elements or steps of a lesson or concept. This helps students focus on the critical parts of what’s being taught. Three types:
What Key Points: The academic vocabulary or terms
How Key Points: The step-by-step process required to master the objective (NOTE: This is not what the teacher is doing. This is what the kids are doing to learn the content).
Why Key Points: The reason why we care about this
I Do, We Do, You Do: A gradual release of responsibility model in teaching.
- I Do: The teacher explicitly models the task.
- We Do: The teacher and students work together to complete the task.
- You Do: Students independently apply the learned skill or concept.
Scaffolding: Support provided by the teacher during the learning process. Explicit modeling could mean breaking down tasks into smaller, manageable steps and providing guidance before gradually removing support.
Demonstration: A form of explicit modeling where the teacher physically shows how to do something, such as writing a paragraph, solving a math problem, or conducting a science experiment.
Metacognitive Strategies: Teachers model techniques that involve thinking about one's thinking. During explicit modeling, the teacher might verbalize questions like, "Why am I choosing this strategy?" or "What could be a better way to approach this?"
Success Criteria: Clear, measurable guidelines that define what success looks like for a task. These criteria are shared with students during explicit modeling to set expectations.
Coaching Conversation Template
How to use it:
Find any bracketed text.
Fill this in BEFORE you meet with the teacher. You will look silly and I would feel sad. Only use ONE of the evidence examples.
Be you! You can do it. The best coaches are planned coaches.
Praise/Follow Up on Previous Action Steps
I appreciate the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss my observation.
First, I want to follow up on <previous action step or feedback>. Tell me more about how this is going for you. What impact has this had on you and your students?
Today, I saw <positive evidence of specific teacher action>.
What impact does this move have on you and your students?
Evidence
I want to hone in on some evidence I collected when I was in your classroom.
<struggle with initial practice/slow to start> (i.e. At 12:02, you released students to get started on the assignment. By 12:12 pm, only 4 out of the 16 had started. Why do you think that was? Is there something in your instruction that we can adjust to ensure more students feel confident approaching the task?)
<inconsistent work results> (i.e. Let’s review your student practice and pay attention to the key features. What were we looking for? Did students know that? My challenge to you is to make these expectations much clearer to students so that you can get more consistent results. I want to focus on the modeling, specifically. How does that sound?)
Action Step
Great, so here is your action step: Every time you plan an explicit model, prepare the “how” to master the skill:
Review the objective and exit ticket
Create/find a similar question
Complete the question yourself
Write the 2-3 steps that you did to complete the question
What impact will this have on you and your classroom?
Go ahead and write down the action step.
Plan/Practice
Let me show you what this looks like with the lesson that I observed.
MODEL
NOTE: If you use a specific curriculum, this will all be SUPER different—model the model using the resources.
Even though I am not an expert in your content area, I am going to model the planning process. I pulled up your lesson plan for the one that I observed.
First, I look at my exit ticket and learning goal. I see <read learning goal/objective for the lesson observed>. Here’s my exit ticket. This question matches that objective well so I am going to create a similar question. Here’s the question I came up with. I always want to check alignment at every step of the way. Then, I will do it myself, and as I do it, I will just say what I am doing. I can write it down too.
<narrate the problem/question out loud>
Now, I am going to check. To master this objective, I must <list the step-by-step process>.
What did you see in my model that is present in the action step?
PLAN
Let’s practice this for tomorrow. Find your objective and exit ticket first. Then, we will create a new problem and write our process. This is going to set you up for modeling explicitly.
PRACTICE
Now, let’s practice execution. I’ll play the students. Go ahead and walk me through your model. I want you to just focus on the “how.” You can start with, “Your voice is off and your eyes are on me as I show you what we are doing today…”
Look for:
Body language and tone
Model is aligned
How is clear and concise
Does not ask for too much “student” input; keeps it an actual model
Closing/Follow Up
Thanks for playing along. I know practice can be awkward, but it is a great way to ensure we can work out all the kinks.
Let’s review the action step.
To follow up, I would love to see this in action and so we can work out all of the kinks. I look forward to seeing you in action <date>.
I love posts like this. I don’t care how long we teach for - there’s always one element of modelling that we forget and miss the benefit of. I’ve seen it in some highly experienced practitioners, even those who model really effectively. Thanks Jo, great piece!