Something about the label, direct instruction, seems to conjure images of boring lectures. The change to using explicit instruction was probably, at least in part, an attempt to remedy this, just like how testing got changed to retrieval practice to avoid associations with standardized tests. Retrieval is still testing, and explicit instruction is still direct, but let’s not scare anyone away from “what works.”
Some very smart people choose to avoid the labels and just talk about, “what works.” I suspect that this backfires, resulting in more teachers assuming that what they do already aligns with “what works”, including those that do not teach in a way that draws from teacher effects research, cognitive load theory, and Engelmann’s Direct Instruction. Personally, I choose to use the labels and teach people about the characteristics of the instruction that I’m labeling.
Here are two resources in which I do just that. I hope it is helpful to you as you develop your direct instruction… I mean explicit instruction… I mean explicit teaching… oops I mean effective teaching model.
This webinar was for Accellier, and aimed at teachers in adult vocational training settings. I’ll talk about how the age and the stage of the learner has little bearing on the selection of methods. You can read the summary here.
In this podcast, which is hosted by Kieran Mackle with guest host Chris Such, goes into a plethora of excellent topics, including: How to address criticisms that explicit teaching stifles creativity and autonomy, The characteristics of truly effective explanations and how teachers can master this skill, Misconceptions about explicit teaching and strategies for overcoming them, and What the future might hold for evidence-based teaching approaches.
Book updates
These recordings follow a string of write-ups about my new book, Just Tell Them, which is available now on Amazon. Contact John Catt from Hodder Education, which also happens to be the sponsor of my podcast, for deals on bulk orders for your school. Check out some of the reviews of the book, below.
1. Just Tell Them: A conversation with Zach Groshell
Holly is doing some fine reporting on educational topics that matter to teachers. I recommend subscribing to her newsletter, The Bell Ringer.
2. Teaching shouldn’t be “Guess What’s In My Head”
Joanne Jacobs does a fabulous job distilling the central argument of the book into a short and sweet blog post. Enjoy!
3. Knowledge-rich curriculum and direct instruction depend upon each other
Daniel Buck suggests that Just Tell Them is a good companion to Hirsch’s latest book, since it does the work of describing how to teach knowledge more efficiently. I wrote a blog about this idea here.
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Education Rickshaw 
They always develop new names for the same thing. It’s a feature of beaurocracy/the system. Thankfully good teaching techniques are always welcome.
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