In most cases you will start with the “Elicit”. Here you can find out what the students know (prior
knowledge). This can be done in a variety of ways, such as “Quick Quizzes, MCQs, Post-it notes,
mini whiteboards etc. This is also a good opportunity to deal with students misconceptions or test
material that you have visited previously that is needed to understand the lesson. So for example in
a Science lesson, where a student might be investigating whether light is needed for photosynthesis
I would test knowledge of photosynthesis, respiration and the starch test as part of my quick quiz.
The next stage is the “Engage” stage. In this stage you want to engage interest and curiosity, raise
“The BIG questions” and introduce new learning through teacher explanation modelling. Following
on from the example above I might ask. “Do plants need light to make food?” I might give them a
brief explanation or some information about photosynthesis to help them make a prediction OR to
support the explore stage.
During the “Explore” stage, pupils should be given opportunities to work together following the initial
teacher input to solve/explore problems, building concepts through first hand experience. (This stage
is independent of you, their teacher but may involve scaffolds depending on the complexity of the
task). As the teacher, you should set up the task, but then become the facilitator, helping students by
asking questions and observing. Again referring to the science example above pupils would then
undertake some practical investigative work to answer the big question. NB Depending on the group
and to reduce cognitive load I might break up the practical guidance into several steps.
Following the explore stage I would next go onto the “Explain” stage of the lesson. During this stage
I would use what students had discovered to help them build the concept/knowledge further. This
would involved checking and asking questions. Using their knowledge gained from experience to
develop the concepts further. So again, using the science example above, the teacher would draw
out the findings from the experiment and ask students to compare to predictions. Using deep
questioning and also explanation/modelling the teacher builds the scientific explanation.
The next stage is the stage that will be KEY in assessing their progress, knowledge and
understanding. This stage is “Elaborate” Students may work independently during this stage to
demonstrate learning. This is where students formalise and apply their learning. At this stage the
scaffolds are removed. Students would be involved in independent practice. Using the example
above the students would answer the big question. Does a plant need light to make food? Explain
why using your evidence and scientific knowledge.
In some cases you may require an additional “Extend” stage to challenge all learners. In this stage
you are encouraging the students to apply or extend the concepts and skills in new situations.
Students make connections not just in the subject/ideas studied but also beyond it. They are able to
apply ideas/generalise and transfer principles. This might involve students explaining how they might
test if chlorophyll was needed got photosynthesis or interpreting data from other similar experiments.
While it is expected that evaluation will continue throughout the process, the evaluate section is the
section where you the teacher evaluate the learning that has occurred. This might involve peer/self
assessment or marking. It might involve questioning or quick low stage quizzing to establish
understanding of the concepts. This should also include self-reflection and evaluation from the
student.
Lesson plan-Ease of planning
As an AST and SLE I have used this planning method a lot, particularly when coaching. Again I have
found that is has often had major impact on teaching and learning and on lesson observation
outcomes. I passionately believe that this structure is not just relevant to Science but to is also useful
to other subjects too. Below are a couple of resources that I think will help you if you are trialling this
method for the first time.
Elicit
In most cases you will start with the “Elicit”. Here you can find out what the students
know by eliciting responses from them. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as
“Quick Quizes, MCQs, Post-it notes, mini whiteboards, KWL, traffic lights etc. This is
also a good opportunity to deal with students misunderstandings.
Engage
The next stage is the “Engage” stage. This can come before or after the elicit stage. In
this stage you want to engage interest and curiosity, raise “The BIG questions” and
provide the “HOOK” for why the students want to learn.
Explore
During the “Explore” stage, pupils should be given opportunities to work together,
independent of you,their teacher to explore. As the teacher, you should set up the task,
but then become the facilitator, helping students by asking questions and observing. (In
Scientific enquiry using Piagets theory, this is a time for disequilibrium. This is an
opportunity for students to test their predictions, problem solve, research, ultimately
find out themselves.)
Explain
Following the explore stage I would next go onto the “Explain” stage of the lesson.
During this stage I would use what students had discovered in the explore stage to help
them build a concept. I would try to encourage the students to explain concepts and
definitions in their own words, ask for justification and clarification before providing
them with new labels, definitions and theory.
Elaborate
The next stage is the stage that will be KEY in assessing their progress, knowledge and
understanding. Students may work independently during this stage to demonstrate
learning. This is where students formalise and apply their learning.
Extend
In some cases you may require an additional “Extend” stage. In this stage you are
encouraging the students to apply or extend the concepts and skills in new situations.
Students make connections not just in the subject/ideas studied but also beyond it.
They are able to apply ideas/generalise and transfer principles.
Evaluate
While it is expected that evaluation will continue throughout the process, the evaluate
section is the section where you the teacher evaluate the learning that has occurred.
This should also include self-reflection and evaluation from the student. I personally link
back to the learning outcomes to assess the progress that has been made.