Grounded in inquiry-based approaches and active learning, the 5E instructional model emphasizes students’ active participation and consists of five stages: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate. Even though the phases will be presented in successive order, their application is more iterative and cyclical. For example, numerous interactions of Explore and Explain phases may be necessary before the students are ready for the Elaboration phase. Similarly, based on the group dynamic and the topic difficulty, multiple Engaging phases could be inserted through the process.
Engagement
The Engagement phase is student-centered. The instructor introduces the subject, motivates students, and assesses their prior knowledge by asking open-ended questions, facilitating brainstorming activities, or utilizing props and charts to start a conversation.
Exploration
In the Exploration phase, students observe, hypothesize, test, and question the topic in a cooperative environment. The instructor facilitates the Exploration phase without bestowing any formal information about the topic.
Explanation
In the Explanation phase, the instructor builds on the students’ prior knowledge by delivering formal, technical, and scientific information directly responding to the students’ assumptions, hypotheses, and observations gained in the previous phase. In the Explanation phase, the instructor may use handouts, videos, textbooks, or other instructional material.
Elaboration
The core of the Elaboration phase is to allow students to apply the knowledge they attained in previous phases in order to deepen their understanding of the topic. Students may engage in problem-solving activities where they utilize newly acquired knowledge and their building, developing, experimenting, modeling, organizing, or planning skills.
Evaluation
The Evaluation phase measures the level of students’ adoption of new information and the changes or modification in their thinking process. The evidence of such change could be students’ response to a project-based assignment in form of a portfolio, physical model, prototype, paper, etc. However, low-stakes assessments that help students memorize new information, such as quizzes or exams could be distributed, especially in the Explanation phase.
The 5E Instructional Model. The Science Education Review, 3(2), 2004 51
TOPIC/THEME/UNIT
Demystifying computers and the Internet
LEARNING OUTCOME(S)
Ability to demonstrate how computers and the Internet work
CLASS – INSTRUCTOR
EDU 226 – Prof. Carlos Guevara
5E Phase:
Engage
Activity:
Troubleshooting activity
What the Students Do:
Create a drawing or description of how the internet works
What the Instructor Does:
Provide guidance on how and where to post their work, e.g., discussion board, Jamboard.
Concept(s) Learned:
Utilize prior knowledge
Evidence Gathered:
Reflections and descriptions of students’ understanding
Teaching Mode:
Async
Learning Time:
10 min.
5E Phase:
Explore
Activity:
Know/wonder activity or video
What the Students Do:
Create a log/journal of what they do when something goes wrong with the internet
What the Instructor Does:
Frame the process to create this log, e.g., what, how, why. Assignment submission, Discussion Board, blog, etc.
Concept(s) Learned:
Generate initial observations and explanations as they attempt to troubleshoot a problem
Evidence Gathered:
Troubleshooting logs and initial causal relationships
Teaching Mode:
Async
Learning Time:
10 min.
5E Phase:
Explain
Activity:
Video/slides/explaining how the internet works
What the Students Do:
Review the content provided and connect with concepts learned in previous exercises
What the Instructor Does:
Encourage students to review content and offer opportunities to discuss and answer questions
Concept(s) Learned:
Encourages students to explain concepts and definitions in their own words
Evidence Gathered:
Student participation
Teaching Mode:
Sync
Learning Time:
15 min.
5E Phase:
Elaborate
Activity:
Modeling how data travels through the internet
What the Students Do:
Develop a model on how data travels
What the Instructor Does:
Provide resources for students to conduct the activity
Concept(s) Learned:
Apply new concepts learned to draw conclusions from the evidence
Evidence Gathered:
Student participation
Teaching Mode:
Sync/Async
Learning Time:
20 min.
5E Phase:
Evaluate
Activity:
Rewrite troubleshooting narrative
What the Students Do:
Use acquired knowledge to rewrite initial troubleshooting log
What the Instructor Does:
Emphasizes essential questions to evaluate their understanding of the topic/unit
Concept(s) Learned:
Demonstrate understanding of how computers and the internet work
Evidence Gathered:
Rewritten troubleshooting logs
Teaching Mode:
Sync/Async
Learning Time:
20 min.
Resources
Duran, Lena Ballone and Emilio Duran. “The 5E Instructional Model: A Learning Cycle Approach for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching.” The Science Education Review, 3(2), 2004. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1058007.pdf
Empowering Students: The 5E Model Explained | Lesley University
5E Model of Instruction | Sand Diego County Office of Education
