Direct Instruction Group Project

Direct Instruction In today’s educational environment where standardized tests and curriculum standards are mandatory and have to be met, students need to master basic skills and concepts. Direct instruction is a model well suited for learning these basic skills. It is a systematic approach to academic instruction. It seeks to maintain motivation through pacing and reinforcement. Through success and positive feedback, it tries to enhance self-esteem (Joyce, 2004). The major criticism is that it is too teacher-centered and puts students in a passive role. Theoretical and Empirical Support Direct instruction has its roots in behavioral and training psychology. Training psychologists are focused on task analysis, which involves breaking down complex tasks into subtasks. Training psychologists emphasize the design and planning of instruction. Behaviorists address the interaction between teacher and student. They refer to the approach as “modeling with reinforced guided practice” (Joyce, 2004). The clearest empirical support comes from research of effective teachers. There have been many studies of effective teachers 灡 The study by Stallings and Kaskowitz in 1974 showed the importance of time on task and gives empirical support for direct instruction. This study has two important findings. First, time allocated and used for instruction was strongly related to achievement. Second, teachers who were businesslike and used direct instruction strategies were more successful in obtaining high engagement rates (Arends, 2007). Good and Grouws conducted a study that compared effective and ineffective teachers by comparing student achievement on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. They then went to the classrooms and observed the teachers to find out how they differed. The researchers found several behaviors of the effective teachers that made the difference: 1) whole class instruction

was effective, especially if at a brisk pace, 2) lessons were introduced more purposively and explained more clearly by effective teachers, 3) they had high expectations for performance, 4) they had fewer classroom management problems by being task oriented and maintaining a consistent pace, 5) students initiated more interactions with effective teachers, 6) they provided immediate feedback to let students know how they were doing, and 7) they used praise less than ineffective teachers. (Arends, 2007) Another important study was called “Project Follow-Through.” This study involved over 20,000 students over 28 years and was conducted by the Department of Education. Its focus was on three reading instruction models. Project Follow-Through began in 1967 under president Lyndon Johnson. Its express purpose was to study instructional methods that would lead to a reduction in the disparity between low- and high-performing students by improving the performance of low-performing students. Gary Adams, one reviewer of the project, states “educational reformers search for programs that produce superior outcomes with at-risk children, that are replicable and can therefore be implemented reliably in given settings, and that can be used as a basis for a whole school implementation that involves all students in a single program sequence, and that result in students feeling good about themselves. The Follow Through data confirm that Direct Instruction has these features. The program works across various sites and types of children (urban blacks, rural populations, and nonEnglish speaking students). It produces positive achievement benefits in all subject areas – reading, language, math, and spelling. It produces superior results for basic skills and for higher-order cognitive skills in reading and math. It produces the strongest positive self-esteem of the Follow Through programs (Ziffer, 2000). Planning and Conducting Direct Instruction Lessons Direct instruction is designed to teach factual information that can be taught in a stepby-step fashion and to teach procedural knowledge of skills. This model can be used in any subject, but is most appropriate for performance-oriented subjects such as reading, writing,

math, music, and physical education. It is also appropriate for teaching skills in informationoriented subjects such as history and science (Arends, 2007). The first step in planning is to do task analysis. This means to break the complex skills into less complex skills that can be taught in a step-by-step fashion. Planning for time is also very important. Time must be sufficient and match the aptitudes and abilities of the students. Students must stay engaged and motivated. Therefore, the pace of the lesson must be appropriate. The syntax of the model is as follows: Phase 1: Orientation. Teacher establishes goals for the lesson and establishes set. This phase is important for maintaining student engagement and for overall achievement. (Block, 1980; Medley, Soar, and Coker, 1984; Fisher et al., 1980; Medley, 1977). This may include introductory activities, tying in previous knowledge, discussing the objectives for the lesson, level of performance , providing clear instructions, advising of the materials to be used and activities to be used, and providing an overview of the lesson. Phase 2: Presentation. The teacher explains the new concept or skill. It is important to identify attributes of new concepts and provide a rule or definition. Effective teachers spend more time explaining and demonstrating than less effective teachers (Rosenshine, 1985). It is important to check for understanding before moving on to the next phase. Effective teachers ask more questions than ineffective teachers (Rosenshine, 1985). Phase 3: Structured Practice. Teacher leads students through practice examples, provides feedback for errors and reinforces correct practice. Teachers should refer to the objectives as they practice to ensure the students understanding.

Phase 4: Guided Practice. Students practice on their own while the teacher monitors and provides feedback through praise, prompt, and leave. This phase gives the teacher a chance to make assessments and give corrective feedback. Phase 5: Independent Practice. This phase only begins when students shown mastery during guided practice. The practice is assigned as homework or seatwork. Practice continues over extended time period. Teacher focuses on transfer of skill to more complex situations. The teacher makes assessments gives corrective feedback if necessary.

Arends, R. I, Learning to Teach, seventh edition, 2007, p.287-310 Good, T. L., and Grouws, D. A.,1977, Journal of Teacher Education, 28, 49-54 Good, T. L., and Grouws, D. A.,1979, Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 355-362 Ziffer, D. (2000), Project Follow Through Summary, retrieved July 2007 from I Can Read, website: http://projectpro.com/ICR/Research/DI/Summary.htm