How the 5E Model Builds on Student Curiosity for Deeper Learning

Students are naturally curious and inclined to ask questions.

To take advantage of this, your role as an educator is building on that very curiosity and helping them develop deeper thinking from it. This is where the 5E model becomes most helpful. It supports your students in taking ownership through inquiry-based learning and activities that encourage exploration, which oftentimes lead to self-regulated reflection.

Developed by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), the 5E model follows a constructivist approach. Students build understanding by connecting new ideas to their existing knowledge.

The model has five phases, which we will break down one by one in this blog. Each one plays a role in shaping how students learn. They observe, test ideas, connect concepts, and work together to make meaning. Educators, on the other hand, serve as facilitators, guiding students without taking control of the process.

It’s a simple structure with a powerful impact. And while the 5E model is especially effective in STEM subjects, it works well for introducing new topics, and helping students remember what they learn in general.

Let’s take a closer look at what each phase is for and how you can bring it to life in your classroom.

Phase 1: Engage

The first phase of the 5E model involves sparking interest and linking new ideas to what students already know. When you tap into their prior knowledge, it helps them make stronger connections and gives you a better sense of where the gaps might be.

There’s more than one way to build curiosity. You can:

• ask open-ended questions,
• lead a quick discussion,
• or show a short video to introduce the topic.

If you’re running short on time, this doesn’t have to necessarily happen during class. You can assign an article or video for them to explore at home. Giving your students flexibility takes the pressure off and gives them more room to engage with the topic at their own pace.

Ask better in-class questions when you read on our rundown of Effective Questioning Techniques to Increase Student Participation.

Teacher hack: If you’re using PowerPoint, tools like ClassPoint let you collect student responses easily with interactive tools that help you facilitate better classroom engagement. ClassPoint’s Short Answer activity, in particular, allows students to send written responses straight from their devices to your PowerPoint presentation so Q&As stay real-time and interactive.

Once you’re done with the first step, remember to keep the momentum going by giving students space to explore the topic further in the next phase.

Phase 2: Explore

During the explore phase, students are given the chance to get hands-on and explore new ideas for themselves. Instead of spoonfeeding them the answers, your role is to let them test things out, and make their own connections.

Here are a few ways to bring this phase into your lesson:

• Science Experiment: Have students test different materials to see which one is the best insulator. Let them observe, compare results, and come up with their own explanations.
• Role-Playing or Simulation: Let students act out scenarios or processes. They can pretend to be water drops moving through the water cycle or animals in a food chain. It helps them see how things work in context.
• Data Collection Walk: Bring the lesson outside. Students can observe and collect information, such as measuring temperatures, counting plants, or tracking cloud types. Then, come back together and make sense of what they found.

After your students have had the chance to explore, the next step is to help them make sense of what they’ve discovered and start putting their ideas into words.

Phase 3: Explain

This is the phase where you step in and take the lead. You’ll start formally introducing the concepts that came up during the Explore phase and help your students organize what they’ve just experienced. The goal is to guide them in making sense of the new ideas and set them up to apply what they’ve learned later on.

It’s also the time to clear up any confusion. According to The 5E Instructional Model: A Learning Cycle Approach for Inquiry-Based Science Teaching, this phase works best when students get a chance to talk about what they found during the Explore phase before you add new information.

Encourage your students to think and reflect on the following questions:

• What did you notice during the activity, and why do you think it happened?
• Can you explain the concept in your own words based on what you observed?
• How is this connected to something you already know or have seen before?

Pro Tip: Boost student participation by using a reward system. One great way to do this is with ClassPoint’s Award Star feature, which lets you incentivize individual students or the whole class for active engagement without ever leaving PowerPoint.

Phase 4: Elaborate

In the Elaborate phase of the 5E model, students take what they’ve learned and start using it. You must aim to give them enough time and space to apply their understanding in novel ways so it sticks.

Encourage real-world applications with 5 Effective Strategies for Conceptual Understanding in Students.

Ultimately, your job here is to help push their thinking a little further. You play a crucial role in helping them solidify what they’ve learned before moving into the evaluation phase.

Here’s what it looks like in action:

Once students have had the chance to apply what they’ve learned, it’s time to check for understanding and reflect on their learning in the final phase.

Phase 5: Evaluate

At the last phase of the 5E model, students receive feedback on the quality of their explanation. This is where they assess how well they understand the material, while you track academic growth and evaluate individual performance.

Want to boost student feedback? Here are 6 Proven Feedback Strategies That Make Students Ask for Feedback Themselves.

But evaluation doesn’t have to be limited to a quiz or final exam. You can assess student learning through a range of informal assessments such as presentations, posters, short reflection papers, peer critiques, or digital projects. These types of activities often give you a better sense of how deeply your students understand the content and how well they can apply it.

With digital tools reigning king, have a look at our curated list of 11 Online Tools for Student Assessment.

Below is an overview of what student behavior could look like:

• Gives feedback to other students: Offers comments and suggestions during peer reviews or group presentations, helping others improve while reinforcing their own understanding
• Evaluates progress: Reflects on what they’ve learned through self-assessment tools like checklists, journal entries, or learning logs, and identifies areas where they still feel unsure
• Checks work with a rubric or against established criteria: Uses scoring guides or teacher feedback to go over their work, understand expectations, and make revisions where needed
• Compares current understanding with prior knowledge: Looks at what they knew at the start of the lesson and explains how their thinking has changed or deepened

For educators, here are some teaching strategies you can use during this phase:

• Ask open-ended questions: Use prompts like “Why do you think that happened?” or “What would you do differently next time?” to assess critical thinking and understanding
• Observe students: Walk around the room, listen to conversations, and jot down notes as students work or present to measure their level of understanding
• Conduct assessment: Use a combination of assessment methods such as short reflections, performance tasks, rubrics, exit tickets, or project presentations to collect evidence of learning
• Allow for self-evaluation: Give your students a chance to reflect on their own progress through learning journals, goal-setting activities, or one-on-one conferences

Speaking of exit tickets, here are 30+ Fun Ways to Use Exit Tickets for Instant Feedback.

Final Thoughts: The 5E Model Brings Curiosity to Life

Without curiosity, the 5E model would not exist.

It’s the natural drive students have to ask questions, and figure things out for themselves. Each phase gives them the space and time to wonder, and build their own understanding.

Whether you’re guiding students through a tricky word problem or unpacking a science concept, the 5E model teaches them how to approach problems step by step. And it doesn’t stop in the classroom. It also helps students develop skills that matter in the real world. They learn to think critically, work with others, and reflect on their own growth.

In the end, it’s no longer confined to content alone. It’s about shaping confident and curious learners who know how to learn.

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