What works? The sage on the stage

Unless they’re experts, students learn more when teachers fully explain the material, write Richard E. Clark, Paul A. Kirschner and John Sweller in the new American Educator.

Discovery learning, problem-based learning, inquiry learning, constructivist learning — whatever the label, teaching that only partially guides students, and expects them to discover information on their own, is not effective or efficient. Decades of research clearly demonstrates that when teaching new information or skills, step-by-step instruction with full explanations works best.

Minimally guided instruction (“the guide on the side”) takes a great deal more time than explicit instruction (“the sage on the stage”). The  brightest and best-prepared students may “discover” what they’re supposed to, but the less-skilled students will fall even farther behind, the authors write.  “Minimally guided instruction can increase the achievement gap.”

In a second story, Principles of Instruction, Barak Rosenshine discusses “highly effective instructional practices, such as teaching new material in small amounts, modeling, asking lots of questions, providing feedback, and making time for practice and review.”