33.040 - Revisiting Explicit Instruction in English and Mathematics

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Ongoing debates about the value of explicit instruction have characterized the field of research on teaching for at least 50 years. The debates have often pitted forms of teacher-centered direct instruction against the more student-centered approaches of project-based teaching or discovery learning (e.g. Rosenshine, 1986). In both mathematics and ELA, In math, the debate has focused on the conflict between “direct instruction” in which teachers show students what to do and students follow teachers’ direction and more constructivist approaches to teaching and learning. In this symposium, we will revisit the concept of explicitness in instruction in both math and ELA, focusing on recent research in both areas that has explored both the definition and impact of explicit instruction.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 1: Teaching and Teacher Education in the Content Areas

Chair

• Pamela L. Grossman, University of Pennsylvania

Discussants

• Megan L. Franke, University of California - Los Angeles

• Carol D. Lee, Northwestern University

Papers

• Explicitness in Creating Access for all Students to Complex Mathematics - Deborah Loewenberg Ball, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor; Lindsey Mann, University of Michigan; Meghan M. Shaughnessy, University of Michigan

• Explicit Instruction Across Elementary Math and Language Arts - Julie Jackson Cohen, University of Virginia

• Making Mathematical Practices Explicit in Secondary Mathematics Discussions - Sarah Kate Selling, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• A Way, Not the Way: Teaching Flexible Strategies for Approaching English Language Arts Content - Pamela L. Grossman, University of Pennsylvania; Mike Metz, Stanford University