Which instructional approach emphasizes clear and explicit instruction of a specific skill?

• A. Discovery Learning
• B. Explicit Teaching
• C. Direct Teaching
• D. Demonstration

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is making a skill clearly shown and taught in a structured, explicit way. In explicit teaching, the teacher states the specific skill or objective, shows exactly how it’s done through modeling, guides students through practice with feedback, and checks for understanding along the way. This approach helps students know what to do and how to do it, breaking the skill into clear steps and giving precise language and examples so they can imitate and master it with confidence. For example, when teaching a student how to identify the main idea, the teacher would clearly name the skill, model how to spot it in a paragraph, provide guided practice with prompts, and quickly assess understanding to address any misconceptions. This emphasis on clarity and explicit guidance is what makes explicit teaching the best fit for instruction of a specific skill. By contrast, discovery-centered methods focus more on students exploring ideas on their own, which can leave gaps in when and how to apply the skill. Demonstration plays a supporting role by showing what the skill looks like, while direct teaching patterns can share similarities, but the defining feature here is the explicit articulation and step-by-step instruction of the skill itself.