Why explicit instruction is fun for kids

Repetition, rows and rules in a classroom. This paints a picture of killing student creativity, killing their innocent understanding of the world and their agency in learning. What would be better is if students were allowed to explore, discuss ideas with each other and thinking beyond the fundamentals. This approach would surely better for student wellbeing and more exciting for students. But are adults too quick to judge what is exciting for students? Does excitement translate to learning? And are adults projecting ideals of excitement onto students?

There is a difference between what students find fun and exciting and what adults find fun and exciting. Within this space, where the adult and child interact, there is a fundamental misunderstanding of what adults think is exciting and what students think is exciting. We all know learning is exciting and we all know  being able to respond to a question correctly and confidently is exciting; so we  should give our students this opportunity and experience to be excited about learning.

Explicit instruction is a set of principles guiding the design and delivery of effective, efficient, and satisfying learning experiences. This characterisation if explicit instruction is appropriate as explicit instruction considers human cognitive architecture, such that it aims reduce the complexity of tasks to rapidly code information into the long-term memory in an organised fashion. This way, information can be learnt quicker, with less mistakes during independent practice as well as being retrieved with more accuracy when required. While this characterisation broadly outlines explicit instruction, there are some features of explicit instruction that might seem oppressing to adults yet can support student learning. Remembering, it’s not about what adults think is exciting and fun, it’s about what students think is exciting and fun to supporting their learning.

Students in single rows during explicit instruction are fun because students learn. Some adults believe that rows of students, one by one, oppresses students and seems controlling, perpetuating a myth of education related to the industrial model of education. At the moment, the research suggests that learning in rows is the most effective way for a variety of students to learn. A recent review of empirical data into seating arrangements asserts that the evidence supports the idea that students display higher levels of appropriate behaviour during individual tasks when they are seated in rows, with disruptive students benefiting the most. This seating arrangement has been linked to higher achievement. Despite misleading characterisations that explicit instruction is not interactive, seating in rows with activities like pair share, white board work and group discussions led by the teacher, can be highly engaging and purposeful for students. 

Repetition during explicit instruction is fun because it builds neural pathways. I have recently listened to a podcast called Sold a story (which is fantastic!!!) and there was one line in all the episodes that deepened an existing perspective of mine. “It was fantastic” The podcast provided qualitative data for students who were learning to read in single rows, with lots of repetition, and focusing on the fundamentals. It was a primary school student who was clearly excites at her own ability to read after struggling for so long. An interesting point is that the teacher was repeating words over and over, until all the students pronounced the word correctly. It was not tedious and boring to listen to, the students were not bored, nor were they disengaged, they were having fun and learning.

Explicit instruction techniques are fun because it provides autonomy support and structure.  According to a prominent psychological theory, competence is an essential but not sufficient component of motivation. Contrary to popular belief, motivation does not precede competence, competence precedes motivation.  This means when students feel like they have reached the learning outcome, they are excited to engage with more learning and the next challenge. Students can reach mastery by clearly communicated expectations, being led through the activity from the expert teacher, the provision of step-by-step directions before the completing the activity themselves, offering task focused feedback and providing consistency from lesson to lesson and teacher to teacher. Moreover, when teachers are the authority in the classroom and students accept this, it supports their autonomy, not frustrates it.

The process of explicit instruction is fun because it provides purpose and satisfaction, not rapture and frenzy. This misconception about explicit instruction highlights that there are differences between productive fun and unproductive fun. It would be reasonable to assume that engagement, excitement and a classroom “buzz” should lead to better learning, but this might not be accurate. When teachers seek hedonistic happiness for their classrooms, it centres around the pursuit of immediate pleasure and the avoidance of difficult emotions for their students. This perspective over capitalizes on positive emotions and underestimates the value of negative emotions. While seeking pleasure can provide short-term gratification, it has limited benefit on long-term learning. On the other hand, eudaimonic happiness involves realizing one's potential cultivating virtues like effort, discipline and accountability. In the context of learning, a focus on eudaimonia could lead to more profound and sustainable learning outcomes. This approach aligns more with explicit instruction as this approach is systematic, consistent and teacher centred. Not only can explicit instruction be fun, but it also highlights what fun can look like.

In conclusion, what adults think is fun and what children think is fun are two different ideas. The more students learn; the more fun they are having. It is well known that structure, clear expectations, modelling and direct guidance supports novice learners more than other approaches. This is true for both theories of motivation and cognitive psychology. This is way explicit instruction is fun, so let’s make learning fun and use explicit instruction in our classrooms.