Not a Roll of the Dice: Increasing the Probability of Student Success

Decades of educational research have demonstrated that students are most likely to be successful when instruction is explicit and engaging and provides students with multiple opportunities to practice with teacher feedback. To be explicit means more than simply telling students what to do. It is the teacher's responsibility to help the student make connections to prior learning, future application, and real-world relevance. Terrance M. Scott examines how teachers must take responsibility for engaging students during instruction. When students are not engaged, the responsibility goes back on the teacher, who must find ways to engage the student. In addition to presenting interesting content, teachers can engage students by being entertaining and genuine and by providing students with opportunities to respond (OTR).