I used to teach without any structure. Just "blah blah blah"ing. Then I only knew Direct Instruction. THEN I learned that there are more than a dozen models of instruction to build my lessons around.
Direct Instruction is the model to use when we want to teach students to perform a specific skill. It gently moves from teacher modeling to independent student practice.
Inquiry Training is a model of instruction that looks a lot like 20 Questions. You’ll teach your students to ask more helpful questions and to avoid rushing to a hypothesis too quickly.
Get students moving, thinking, writing, and reading each others’ ideas with a Scholar’s Cafe.
Here’s are the steps for running an inductive lesson based on Hilda Taba’s model of Concept Formation. Plus a sample lesson about the Nile River.
John Dewey’s Group Invesgitation is a favorite model of instruction of mine. It’s simply built on curiosity!