Instructional Models: All the -Based Learnings You Could Want (Plus a Few Others)

by Kate Wolfe Maxlow

You probably have a favorite instructional model, even if you don't realize it. Instructional models are overarching approaches to teaching that involve a series of steps in a particular order that are designed to have students think and apply their knowledge in certain ways. The steps in each model, and the order in which they are typically completed, generally support the larger purpose of the model itself. In some models, the goal is fact or skill fluency. In others, there's greater bent toward practical application. Still others are mostly about teaching students to think critically.

How do you know which model to use when? Well, it really depends on your standard and the type of learning you want to elicit from students. Some instructional models tend to be featured more heavily in some content areas than others, and new instructional models are springing up all the time.

Some of the most common are here, along with the purpose of each model, the steps generally involved, and pros and cons for using it in your classroom.

Case Studies

• Purpose: Originally used in business and medical education, the case study is gaining popularity. In it, students are given: a (usually) real-world case study written from the point-of-view of a decision-maker who needs to solve a problem; a description of the problem; and supporting data. Students work independently or in teams to analyze the problem and data and devise a solution for that particular case. It's similar to problem-based learning, but the problem is more specific to a particular case.
• Examples: Students are given a patient with a list of symptoms and must use their knowledge of body systems to determine the problem and devise a solution; students review the data on discipline and suspensions in a school and determine what actions a principal should take; students review a proposal for a new affordable apartment complex and the impact it could have on both the environment and the poverty issue; students examine the decrease in the Oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay, using historical accounts to determine what caused it and steps to take.
• Most Common Steps: Students: (1) Define the issue; (2) Determine the goal of their analysis; (3) Uncover the context of the problem; (4) Consider key facts; (5) Brainstorm alternatives available to the decision-maker; (5) Make a recommendation to solve the problem and justify. Read more here.
• Pros: This method is heavy on the critical thinking and analysis and teaches effective problem-solving skills. It's generally engaging for students, and can take less time than problem-based learning. It shows real-world relevancy for the learning.
• Cons: Pulling together a case study and all the relevant documents can be a huge task for a teacher. Students are making recommendations based on the scenario but not actually implementing them.
• When to Use It: Case Studies are most often used in science or business classes, but can definitely be used in social studies as a way to analyze primary sources as well.

Challenge-Based Learning

• Purpose: Challenge-based learning was originally designed by Apple as a way of teaching students to use their learning, especially with technology, in authentic ways to benefit their schools and communities. It something of a hybrid between project-based learning, problem-based learning, and service learning, and at its height is done in conjunction with community businesses and organizations.
• Examples: Students create a social media campaign to increase Millennial visitation to community museums; students create a PSA on why students should use tap water instead of bottled water and track the number of bottles recycled each month at their school vs. the amount of water consumed from drinking fountains; students research the biggest ways in which their community leaves a carbon footprint and take steps to help the community decrease its carbon footprint.
• Most Common Steps: (1) Engage: Learners develop questions to develop an actionable challenge to improve their school or community; (2) Investigate: Learners research potential causes and solutions regarding their challenge; (3) Act: Learners choose a solution and undertake it, monitoring and evaluating the results.
• Pros: Because learners develop the challenge themselves, they have a high degree of ownership and interest. It's one of the highest levels of problem-solving; they have to not only determine the solution but also the problem itself. Because it often involves working with community organizations and businesses, students get real life experience that helps prepare them for the world outside of PreK-12 education AND they get to see the fruits of their efforts help to make their communities better.
• Cons: Because students help to define the problem, these projects can go any number of ways, which can make it difficult for teachers to grade given standards. Working with community-based organizations and businesses can also take a significant amount of time for teachers to create and sustain these relationships. Because students actually implement their often complex solutions, these projects can also take a significant amount of instructional time.
• When to Use It: This method works best with courses that have real-life applications. While younger students CAN engage in this method, it is particularly effective with older students because it allows them to work directly with community organizations and businesses, therefore making connections that will be helpful once those students leave PreK-12 education.

Direct Instruction

• Purpose: The purpose of direct instruction is to help students gain fluency with facts or skills. It's probably the most commonly used instructional method, and yet one of the only teacher-based methods on here.
• Examples: Teaching students to add/subtract; teaching students how to analyze a primary source; teaching students how to find the main idea of a passage; teaching students how to use measurement tools.
• Most Common Steps: Commonly known as the Madeline Hunter lesson plan, there are several steps. Not all of them have to be present in every lesson, and Madeline Hunter herself said that the steps can be presented in different orders. The main steps are: (1) Anticipatory Set (focusing students on what will be learned; activating prior knowledge); (2) Setting the objective or purpose (also called Learning Intentions/Success Criteria); (3) Input (presenting new information to the students); (4) Modeling (demonstrating to students how to complete the work); (5) Checking for Understanding (making sure students understand what was presented; reteaching as necessary); (6) Guided Practice (teacher supervises as students complete work); (7) Independent Practice (students work on their own; (8) Closure (teacher reviews objectives and wraps-up lesson). Read more here.
• Pros: It's the quickest, easiest way to help students become fluent with knowledge and skills. When done correctly, students know exactly what is expected of them.
• Cons: While it can be engaging, it often leaves little room for student choice or ownership of their own learning. The teacher can tie the learning to real-life, but the relevancy is not as strong as in many of the other instructional methods on this page.

Inquiry(-Based) Learning

• Purpose: To teach students to ask questions and find answers
• Examples: Science experiments, conducting research around a topic
• Most Common Steps: (1) Elicit student knowledge; (2) Engage students; (3) Students Explore a concept; (4) Students Explain what they learned; (5)  Teacher and students Elaborate on what was learned; (6) Extend the learning beyond the classroom; (7) and Students Evaluate their own learning. More on each step can be found here.
• Pros: Inquiry-based learning gives students a lot of choice and ownership over their own learning. Students generally drive the process, with the teacher acting as a facilitator to help them on their journey. Because of this, it can be very motivating for students who have been properly taught how to engage with this process. It's also great for teaching critical thinking skills.
• Cons: It can take awhile to teach this method, both in terms of teaching students how to engage in it, and then giving them time to explore and conduct their own research and investigations.  Many teachers jump too quickly to full-on inquiry, which can be overwhelming to students who have never engaged in this type of learning before. It's better to ease into inquiry learning, teaching students skills as you go. A helpful guide on different levels of inquiry can be found here.
• When to Use It: Inquiry(-based) learning is often used in the sciences, and can also be used in any content area in which students need to formulate questions and search for answers.

Jurisprudential Inquiry

• Purpose: To teach students how to examine an issue from multiple viewpoints, choose an opinion, and justify it with evidence. Students search for information, and present their views to a class-selected board of arbitrators, who then deliver a decision on the issue.
• Examples: Disposable versus cloth diapers; changes to the school curriculum; censorship; removing historical monuments, etc..
• Most Common Steps: (1) Orientation to the issue (divide students into teams, randomly assign each team a side to represent); (2) Identify and Define the Issue (teams research, read, interview, survey, etc. to learn more; (3) Synthesizing the Research into Arguments (students establish a stance, point out possible consequences of a position, teacher chooses an arbitrator board from all sides of issue); (4) Prepare Board of Arbitrators (prepare questions for presentations, plan strategy for running the meeting); (5) The Public Meeting (all sides present their case while Board listens); (6) Clarification and Consensus (Board arrives at consensus and the Board clarifies why they rendered their decision; (7) Application (students consider how what they have learned applies in real-life). Read more here.
• Pros: This method teaches students to look at all sides of an issue and how to research and debate effectively. It can help them develop informed opinions and prepares them to present information effectively. It's motivating for students if they care about the issue and shows the real-world relevancy of their learning.
• Cons: If students have never engaged in the jurisprudential inquiry method before, they will require substantial scaffolding the first few times they use it. Students might have to be taught to collaborate, and it can use a significant amount of time to complete.
• When to Use It: This works well with any topic that is hotly debated.

Problem-Based Learning

• Purpose: This is a student-driven instructional model in which the teacher gives students an open-ended, real-world problem before learning takes place, and then use their learning as they work to devise a solution. Depending on the scope of the problem, the lesson can last anywhere from one day to weeks.
• Examples: Students develop a way to stop other students from littering; students create a campaign to let others know about ethical issues in chocolate-production around the world; students develop an easily workable household budgeting spreadsheet and train community members on it.
• Most Common Steps: Students: (1) Examine and define the problem; (2) Identify what they already know about the problem and underlying issues related to it; (3) Figure out what else they need to know and how they can find out the information; (4) Determine possible ways to solve the problem and evaluate for effectiveness; (5) Choose a solution and implement; (6) Report what they found. More information can be found here.
• Pros: The use of a problem before instruction takes place can instantly hook students and provide a framework for all further knowledge. Work is usually completed in groups, therefore allowing students chances to collaborate and learn how to work productively together. It provides real-life relevance for topics and can help solve actual problems in the school or community.
• Cons: Teachers have to develop problems that students find interesting. Group work can be challenging if students are not used to it. Depending on the scope of the problem, it can take a significant amount of class time. If students are not used to being independent learners, the teacher will need to scaffold the work.
• When To Use It: Problem-Based Learning can be used in any classroom that has real-world applications...so therefore, just about all of them.

Project-Based Learning

• Purpose: The purpose of project-based learning is to have students apply what they have learned in a real-world context through the use of a performance or product-creation. These projects usually take multiple lessons and frequently combine multiple disciplines. It's more general than problem-based learning, in that students may or may not be solving a problem with their project.
• Examples: Students design and create a haunted house based on gothic literature; students design and create a carnival game based on geometric probability; students write and perform a play based on early 20th century factory conditions. More example projects can be found here.
• Most Common Steps: (1) The teacher asks a driving question (which is usually slightly more specific than an Essential Question), such as, "How can we create more environmentally-friendly toys for toddlers?"; (2) The teacher plans an Entry Event--an event to hook students into the topic and set the stage for the project; (3) The teacher designs the specs for the final product or performance, which can be more or less open-ended depending on the teacher's performance (for instance, the teacher can say: "Create an environmentally-friendly, toddler-proof toy" OR "Design a way to get kids to eat healthier at lunch."); (3) Students complete the project (can take days or weeks) with the teacher acting as a facilitator; (4) Students present the project in a real-world setting (usually involving the public); (5) The teacher evaluates the students' work using a rubric. More information can be found on the Buck Institute website here.
• Pros: There's a lot of student choice and ownership over their products. Students commonly work together in groups, so they're learning collaborative skills while also applying their knowledge. It makes the learning relevant for students, who will often retain the information better.
• Cons: It can eat up several lessons depending on how it is designed. Many teachers report that the first time they do a project, it usually ends up taking longer and being more complicated than expected; it can take a few tries before refining the project to a manageable point. Students often have to be taught how to work together and need classroom supports to stay on-task and finish within the allotted time. Also, materials for intended projects can be costly (consider using something like Donors Choose).
• When to Use It: This instructional method can be used for any content area; in fact, it's often cross-curricular.

Service Learning

• Purpose: Students use their classroom learning to complete projects that positively benefit a genuine need in their community. The National Youth Leadership Council distinguishes it from community service this like: "Picking up trash on a river bank is a service. Studying water samples under a microscope is learning. When science students collect and analyze water samples, document their results, and present findings to a local pollution control agency -- that is service learning." It's important to note here that usually, true service-learning involves an authentic way to help improve the community--so, not just having a bake sale to raise money to donate to have another organization do something about the need.
• Examples: Students devise ways to cut down on bullying in their school; students create books for younger students to take home to read over breaks; students design art work to make a part of town more visually appealing.
• Most Common Steps: Students (1) Conduct a needs assessment in their school/community on the topic and reflect on findings; (2) Plan a way to address the need, including determining the time, talent, and resources needed; (3) Implement their project; (4) Reflect on the effectiveness of the project at benefitting the community; (5) Present their project and findings to the public.
• Pros: This is one of the most motivating types of learning for students; they see instant benefits in their personal communities and are therefore more invested. It helps develop creativity and problem-solving. It teaches students not only to implement projects, but to reflect heavily on whether they projects have actually benefited others. It also teaches them that they have power to solve the problems around them.
• Cons: It can be time-consuming and sometimes difficult to tie some content to a service-project. The content that students use will be learned at a very deep level, but you might have to use other methods to get at the content not immediately involved in the project.
• When to Use It: Service Learning can work with almost any content area, though certain topics within each content area lend themselves better to service learning. Common topics are things like: helping the environment, poverty and homelessness, bullying, beautification projects, health and wellness, emergency preparedness, mentoring/tutoring, and historical/cultural preservation. Check out more ideas here.

Have you tried one or more of these methods? Let us know how it went by commenting below!

Kate Wolfe Maxlow is the Director of Innovation & Professional Learning in Hampton City Schools. She can be reached at kmaxlow@hampton.k12.va.us.