0.6 Gresham, g. (october 2011). a university/school partnership  (Page 4/10)

Explicit instruction. Even when using inquiry-based instruction, there is time for explicit instruction. A popular inquiry learning model is the 5 E Learning Cycle Model with five distinct components: engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation (Coe, 2001). In the third component (explanation), the teacher addresses new concepts and clears up misconceptions; this is the component where the teacher directly and explicitly teaches if student misunderstandings occur. When considering diverse, struggling learners, explicit instruction is supported by many researchers (Gersten, Baker,&Marks, 1998; Mercer&Mercer, 2001). Borman, Hewes, Overman,&Brown (2003) conducted a meta-analysis of school reform models and found that the direct teaching model was in the top three models of the 29 studied for its effectiveness on low performing campuses. Sousa (2006) believed that current brain research supports the use of direct instruction. Deliberate, explicit instruction is critical to struggling readers and has a place in inquiry-based instruction. Also, planned instruction should include a model of gradual released of responsibility to ensure student readiness for independent work.

Gradual released of responsibility. By design, the Direct Instruction model (DI) authored by Madeline Hunter (1976), gradually released responsibility to students. This instruction model is still viewed as an effective way to plan instruction (Sousa, 2006). In the DI model, first the teacher delivers instructional input and modeling, next, provides guided practice while supporting students, and finally, students participate in independent practice with little teacher support. Thus, the responsibility for learning is gradually released. Pearson and Gallagher (1983) visually displayed the Gradual Released of Responsibility Model that reiterated the concepts brought forward by Madeline Hunter. According to the Pearson and Gallagher model, the responsibility for a task follows this sequence: (1) all teacher; (2) joint responsibility between the teacher and students; and (3) all student. Diehl (2008) defined this released of responsibility, “from outer control to inner control” (p. 1). It is the outer control to inner control that allows learners to become independent learners. For as Sousa (2006) stressed, the goal of teaching is for learners to no longer need support, and planning for intentional transfer of learning is one technique that can help to ensure need for little support. This principle applies to students and teachers who are engaging in learning a new skill or strategy. By implementing a coaching model over a sustained period of time to support teachers through learning new instructional strategies, the responsibility for implementation shifts from the mentor or coach to the teacher.

Coaching. Sustained coaching efforts are critical for lasting teacher instructional change. According to Berube (2008), science requires learning skills and dispositions not found in other content areas such as “observing, classifying, working with data, and experimenting; critical-thinking skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating; and most important, scientific-reasoning skills, including questioning scientific assumptions, searching for data and its meaning, demanding verification, and respecting the historical” (p. 223-224). Shidler (2009) stated that teachers improve efficacy in teaching science through coaching by an expert. Coaching teachers on content knowledge and modeling instructional practices assists them in moving from theory to practice, and the components of effective coaching include (a) instruction in specific content, (b) modeling of instructional practices, (c) observing teacher implementation, and (d) consultation with the purpose of reflection (Shidler, 2009). By implementing a coaching model over a sustained period of time to support teachers through learning new instructional strategies, the responsibility for implementation shifts from the mentor or coach to the teacher (Gill, Kostiw,&Stone, 2010).