Which term describes an instructional approach that provides explicit, clear steps for a skill?

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

Answer: (C)

Explicit teaching focuses on presenting a skill with clearly stated, step-by-step instructions. The teacher breaks the skill into small, manageable parts, models the sequence, and then guides students through guided practice with specific feedback. This explicit, sequenced approach helps students know exactly what to do and in what order, making the process transparent and easier to reproduce independently. It also allows the teacher to check understanding at each step and adjust before moving forward, which supports steady skill development.

Demonstration shows how to perform the skill by example, which is helpful for seeing the technique in action but may not lay out every discrete step for students to follow. Discovery learning invites students to explore and uncover strategies on their own, with minimal upfront guidance. Direct teaching shares a structured, teacher-led format but the key element highlighted by the description—clear, explicit steps—best matches the term explicit teaching.