The ongoing debate between teacher-led and student-led learning is simplistic. Education is a complex field and teachers adapt their methods to context. It’s never just one or the other.
There’s no need for the tug of war. Explicit instruction and inquiry based learning go hand-in-hand.
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Research has shown if students are not given problem-solving opportunities after they have learnt the basics, their learning can decline.
Cogitive load theory explains why explicit guidance from teachers is more effective in teaching students new content and skills than letting them discover these for themselves.
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There are two types of knowledge – we’ve evolved to acquire the first naturally; we need schools for the second. Cognitive load theory explains how to teach knowledge we don’t automatically get.
Inquiry encourages students to explore and understand the application of concepts in a real-world context.
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Instead of just memorising facts and figures, an inquiry-based approach is one where the teacher facilitates students to discover knowledge for themselves.
Explicit instruction is based on a learning theory that suggests we remember what we think about most.
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Explicit instruction is a type of teaching model where students are shown what to do and how to do it.
There’s no use pretending the teacher doesn’t have more knowledge than everyone else in the room; this is the way it should be.
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Explicit instruction - where the teacher stands at the front of the class and teaches - is out of vogue with educators who prefer collaborative learning. But it’s really the only teaching style with proven results.
While the Direct Instruction approach is useful, it shouldn’t be used in isolation, and it won’t “fix” anything.
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Yesterday’s announcement of a $22 million grant for a Direct Instruction program - a direct method of teaching using lectures and demonstrations - to improve literacy outcomes for remote Indigenous children…