Running Head: DIRECT-INSTRUCTION MODEL 1

Main Title: Direct – Instruction Model (Theoretical Foundation)

Course/ Class Name: Instructional Techniques

Name(s): Avery Westby, Lareini Reyes, Dale Baltazar

Institution Name: University of Belize

Instructor: Transito Romero

Short Description of the paper’s content:

This paper will express the group’s collective view of the Theoretical Foundation of the Direct –

Instruction Model of lesson planning and teaching, based on research and findings.
Direct Instruction Model 2

The Direct-
The Theoretical Foundation:
Instruction
The Direct-Instruction Model (also known as explicit instruction) is a model that uses

teacher explanation and modelling combined with student practice and feedback to teach

concepts and procedural skills. It involves the teacher specifying learning objectives, explaining

and illustrating content, and modelling skills for the students. This model is built on research

and theory from three main areas. These are; the Teacher effectiveness research, the Social

Cognitive Theory, and the influence of interaction theory in learning (based on the work of

Lev Vygotsky 1978).

The first area of focus is the teacher effectiveness theory. This theory explains that

teachers who use their time effectively and efficiently are able to present high-quality examples,

use clear language, provide effective feedback and develop lessons with effective questioning.

These in turn increase student achievement more than teachers who have less expertise in these

areas. Researchers have termed this process as the general pattern of instruction (Shuell, 1996).

To achieve this, teachers utilize six distinct characteristics that are effective across grade levels

and content areas. These are; (1) Reviewing the previous day’s work, (2) Presenting new

material in clear and logical steps, (3) Providing guided practice, (4) Giving feedback with

correctives, (5) Providing independent practice, and (6) Reviewing to consolidate learning. In

essence, these characteristics provide the structure of the Direct-Instruction Model.

The second area of focus is the Social Cognitive Theory. This theory explains that

students can learn by observing others. The Social Cognitive theory describes changes in

behaviour, thinking, or emotions that result from observing the behaviour of another person
Direct Instruction Model 3

(Bandura, 1989, 1997). In other words, the theory promotes the concept of modelling; which is

the tendency of students to imitate behaviours they observe in others. The Direct instruction

Model incorporates the benefits of modelling by having teachers demonstrate (model) steps

involved in learning a skill or thinking involved in classifying examples of concepts. Teachers

can capitalize on this method of cognitive modelling by emphasizing the process of verbalizing

an individual’s thinking as a person solves a problem.

The third area of focus of this model is the Social Side of Skill Learning. Rooted in the

teachings of Vygotsky, this theory emphasizes the importance of verbal interaction in helping

students learn. Much of the effectiveness of direct instruction results from the interaction

between the teacher and students (Cohen & Lotan, 1997; Wertsch 1991). Two of Lev Vygotsky’s

concepts capitalize on interaction. The first is the concept of scaffolding, which is a term used to

describe the instructional, verbal support that teachers provide as students learn skills. Teachers

can provide scaffolding in many ways including; breaking complex skills into subskills, asking

questions and adjusting their difficulty, providing prompts and cues, and even presenting

examples. The second is the concept of zone of proximal development. This describes the state

of learning in which a student is unable to solve a problem or perform a skill alone but can be

successful with the help of a teacher. Here, the teacher functions as the most effective aid in

learning, providing the students with assistance as well as confidence to finding solutions to

problems.

In effective direct-instruction lessons, students are active in responding to teacher

questions, analysing examples, and practicing skills to the point where they can be used with

little or no mental effort. Students engage in both cognitive and social learning when teachers use

this model of teaching.

Direct Instruction Model 4

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