Research shows little benefit from phonics instruction in Grades 2 through 12. However, more recent studies show that students who fall below a decoding threshold fail to benefit from other kinds of reading instruction. This exploration of the evidence suggests that these students are likely to need support in the reading and spelling of…

To determine the effects of explicit instruction (EI) and potential moderators in second/foreign language (L2) teaching, this study meta-analyzed 28 primary reports (a total of 67 unique samples, N = 3754). The main results show that EI was significantly effective in facilitating L2 development, with effect sizes ranging from moderate to large…

More than two-thirds of middle school students do not read proficiently. Research has shown that targeted interventions using explicit instruction methods can improve reading outcomes for struggling readers. A central feature of explicit instruction is the systematic implementation of instructional interactions, but it is not clear what specific…

Although explicit instruction is effective in helping second language (L2) learners develop intelligible pronunciation, it is necessary to understand why and how L2 teachers implement such explicit pronunciation instruction systematically in class. Because of its key role in enhancing learners' pronunciation skills, understanding the rationale…

Many students with learning disabilities struggle with sentence writing fluency, the skill of quickly and accurately generating words that follow rules of semantics, spelling, syntax, and usage within sentence structures understandable to readers. Students who struggle with sentence writing fluency may face difficulty fully expressing their ideas…

Explicit instruction is a high-leverage practice for special education and is associated with improved learning for students with disabilities (Hughes et al., 2019). The high-leverage practices are 22 critical practices in special education that are effective for improving outcomes for a broad range of students with and at risk for disabilities…

This study's purpose was to examine the effects of the concrete-representational-abstract integrated (CRA-I) sequence on the performance of students who struggled with rational number concepts. Three students in southeastern U.S. fifth grade class participated in the study. The CRA-I intervention was grounded in the principles of explicit…

Despite the prevalence of students with learning disabilities (LD), athletic coaches face challenges in recognizing and effectively supporting the needs of athletes with LD due to lack of professional development in this area. Sometimes referred to as a "hidden disability", LD is not easily perceived by teachers and coaches. Students…

The 2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) definitively identifies anti-racism as a necessary component of social work education. This change supports an effort to ensure that coming generations of social workers are more than culturally competent, but rather actively anti-racist…

This paper proposes a novel educational approach to epistemic vice rehabilitation. Its authors Gerry Dunne and Alkis Kotsonis note that, like Quassim Cassam, they remain optimistic about the possibility of improvement with regard to epistemic vice. However, unlike Cassam, who places the burden of minimizing or overcoming epistemic vices and their…

This article provides a theoretical and empirical argument in support of explicit language instruction. It proposes on theoretical grounds that certain features of a language are sufficiently complex and subtle that learners are unlikely to be able to decipher their full conceptual meaning on the basis of exposure alone. It further proposes that…

"Research Findings:" Early science skills predict later science achievement, and persistent achievement gaps in science appear as early as preschool. The current study compared the effectiveness of different instructional approaches for teaching preschoolers about sinking and floating and examined individual differences in learning.…

Background: Inquiry-based instruction is a prominent teaching strategy in science education that is assumed to be an effective means to foster not only students' understanding of science content but also their procedural and epistemic knowledge concerning inquiry processes. Empirical studies have repeatedly shown that inquiry-related activities…

Writing is a complex activity requiring a wide range of skills. Sentence construction, a foundational writing skill, is necessary for paragraph and composition writing. Unfortunately, many current approaches to teaching writing place a priority on the product--focusing on teaching the process of writing lengthy pieces rather than providing…

Effective educational practices play an instrumental role in student success. In the context of an inclusive classroom, it is crucial that educators use evidence-based practices to ensure all students meet educational outcomes. This literature review paper focuses on two evidence-based pedagogies, namely direct/explicit instruction (DI/EI) and…