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Organizing a Class using the

Model Instructional Strategy

Anh D. Chau, PhD, PE | Assistant Professor

Stock Development Department of Construction Management

Lucas Center For Faculty Development | Symposium on Teaching & Learning

Last Updated:

Feb 17, 2026

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ASCE ExCEEd Teaching Workshop

A full-day, multi-day workshop, spanning 7 days.
Faculty participate in around 12 interactive seminars, each focused on a specific teaching skills.
Seminar topics such as:

Asking students effective questions
Developing board notes
Writing and speaking on whiteboard
Engaging students through active learning

Participants teach 3 practice classes during the workshops

Our

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Lucas Center for Faculty Development | Symposium on Teaching & Learning

For a little background, ExCEEd stands for Excellence in Civil Engineering Education. It is a teaching workshop offered through the American Society of Civil Engineers, and it has been around for more than 20 years. Each year it has more than 32 faculty participated.

The workshop is very intensive. It typically runs for about a week of full-day sessions focused entirely on teaching. Faculty take part in a series of interactive seminars, each focused on a specific teaching skill, and they also teach three practice classes where they receive structured feedback from mentors and peers.

The instructional strategy I am sharing today comes from the ExCEEd workshop. While it was originally developed within civil engineering education, the approach is not discipline-specific and can be adapted to a wide range of courses and teaching contexts.

The goal today is to give you a practical framework you can try and adjust for your own teaching.

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Learning Objectives

Introduce Model Instructional Strategy
Discuss the Application of Model Instructional Strategy in Teaching

Leading

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A Model Instructional Strategy

Provide an orientation
Provide learning objectives.
Provide information.
Stimulate critical thinking about the subject.
Provide models.
Provide opportunities to apply the knowledge:
Assess the learners’ performance and provide feedback.
Provide opportunities for self-assessment.

Instructors

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Lucas Center for Faculty Development | Symposium on Teaching & Learning

So what exactly is the Model Instructional Strategy? At its core, it is a structured framework for organizing a single class session or lesson. Think of it as a blueprint that guides you through the key elements of effective instruction.

The MIS consists of eight components that work together to create a complete learning experience. Let me walk you through them briefly.

First, you provide an orientation. This means setting the stage for your students by explaining what you will cover and why it matters.

Second, you provide learning objectives. These are the specific things students should be able to do by the end of the lesson.

Third, you provide information. This is the core content delivery, whether through lecture, readings, or other means.

Fourth, you stimulate critical thinking about the subject. This is where you push students beyond just receiving information to actively thinking about it.

Fifth, you provide models. These are examples or demonstrations that show students what good work or correct application looks like.

Sixth, you provide opportunities to apply the knowledge. Students need chances to practice and use what they are learning.

Seventh, you assess their performance and provide feedback. This helps students know if they are on the right track.

And finally, you provide opportunities for self-assessment, so students can evaluate their own understanding and identify gaps.

What I appreciate about this framework is that it does not need to be rigid. You can adapt the sequence and emphasis based on your content and your students' needs. In a moment, I will demonstrate how these components come together in an actual lesson.

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Cheat Sheet

	Steps
Provide an	Orientation
Provide	Learning Objectives
Provide	Information
Stimulate	Critical Thinking
Provide	Models
Provides Opportunity to	Apply Knowledge
Assess Performance and Provide	Feedback
Provide Opportunities for	Self-Assessment

Remember
Our
Leading
Instructors
Coach
Meaningful
And
Focused
Sessions

Instructors

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Lucas Center for Faculty Development | Symposium on Teaching & Learning

Now, I know that's a lot to remember, so I want to leave you with a simple tool you can use. This is a cheat sheet for the Model Instructional Strategy that makes it easy to recall all eight components.

On the left, you see the steps listed in order. On the right, you'll notice the underlined letters spell out a phrase: "Our Leading Instructors Coach Meaningful And Focused Sessions."

This is a mnemonic device. Each word corresponds to one of the eight steps. Orientation, Learning Objectives, Information, Critical Thinking, Models, Apply Knowledge, Feedback, and Self-Assessment.

The idea is simple. When you're planning a lesson or in the middle of teaching, you can use this phrase to quickly check whether you've included all the key components. You don't need to follow them in a strict order every single time, but having this mental checklist helps ensure you're creating a complete and effective learning experience.

I encourage you to take a photo of this slide or jot down the phrase. It's a practical tool you can refer back to as you design your own classes using this framework.

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Discussion

What if I don’t have time? Can I skip any steps in the MIS?
Do I have to follow the 8 steps in order?

Coach

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Lucas Center for Faculty Development | Symposium on Teaching & Learning

Can I skip any steps in the MIS?

All of the steps here are important. Each step exists for a reason.
Skipping one often means giving up a chance to deepen learning.
Ask yourself: “What will students miss if I leave this step out?”
If you don’t have time to include all steps, especially in short lesson, you can spread it out in multiple lessons or combine in-class and out-of-class activities as well.

Do I have to follow the 8 steps in order?

I totally agree. The order is very flexible. What is important is how they are present and connected.
For example, I sometimes start with a model or application to activate curiosity before giving students information.

Isn’t this too much structure? What about flexibility or spontaneity in teaching?

The MIS doesn’t remove flexibility it gives your flexibility purpose.
You can still be spontaneous, creative, and responsive, but MIS ensures you’re guiding students through a full learning cycle, not just throwing content at them.

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MIS Analogy:

A Good Lesson is Like Coaching a Soccer Team

Meaningful

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Meaningful

https://youtu.be/jOQLd2ZP2lI

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Problem 1: Let review the MIS with this Kahoot!

https://create.kahoot.it/share/exceed-seminar-5/541c68a9-9231-4697-a9e6-1a575d6f9f39

And, Focused

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Bonus: Here is the bonus questions for you to practice by yourself.

https://create.kahoot.it/share/exceed-seminar-5-bonus/a764ef12-e3cb-4a85-9040-351793c49f1a

Sessions

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Our Leading Instructors Coach Meaningful And Focused Sessions

Lucas Center for Faculty Development

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Lucas Center for Faculty Development | Symposium on Teaching & Learning