Delivering Effective Explanations

Delivering an effective explanation was something I struggled with when I started teaching. I would often waffle, be unclear, and watch as students glazed over, failing to follow the knowledge I was trying to convey, I would even ensure that if I was not explaining if I was being observed. However, after extensive research and observing other educators, I’ve identified two key principles to ensure explanations are effective:

Principle One: Concrete to Abstract

All explanations should start with a concrete example that illustrates the key aspects of the abstract concept you’re teaching. I also find it incredibly useful to explicitly explain what the concept is not. This can be done by providing a non-example and explaining why it doesn’t fit, helping students better understand the boundaries of the concept.

Principle Two: Checks for Listening

Attention is essential for teachers, and unless we check that students are actively listening, our explanations may fall flat. I spend time during explanations checking for listening by using a technique I learned from Pritish Raichura—All Hands Up. Throughout an explanation, I ask easy questions to check that students are listening to what I’ve just said. When I ask these questions, I expect every student to put their hand up to show me they’re engaged. Students have shared that this approach keeps them alert, as they know they’ll be expected to raise their hand frequently to respond during explanations. This technique ensures students are actively engaged, not just passively listening (or tuning out).

Here is an example of this process:

As you can see, I’m constantly checking for listening at every part of the explanation. It’s just as important to verify that students understood the concrete example as it is to check that they absorbed the abstract definition of the concept.

Addressing Criticisms

Some critics of this approach raise two concerns:

• “The questions are too easy; students aren’t thinking hard.” – I agree; the questions are easy. However, it’s important to understand that I’m not checking for understanding at this stage—just ensuring they’re listening to each sentence. The more challenging questions come later, but students must first listen to the explanation if they’re to succeed in the harder work that follows.

• “You’re only picking one student; how can you be sure they’re all listening?” – While I understand this critique, I must consider the purpose of All Hands Up. It’s designed to ensure the class is following along, not switching off. If every hand goes up, I can be reasonably confident they’ve listened to my last sentence. Later in the lesson, I’ll use mini-whiteboards and cold-calling to more thoroughly assess understanding, but during explanations, I simply need to ensure the students are with me.

There’s much more to a successful lesson than these principles; effective teaching also requires solid assessments and deeper thinking activities later in the lesson. However, to deliver clear explanations, these principles are essential to my practice.