Direct Instruction

 Also called explicit instruction

 Widely applicable strategy that can be
used to teach both concepts and skills
 Uses teacher explanation and modeling
combined with student practice and
feedback
 Teacher Role
 Specifies learning objectives
 procedural skills; automaticity; transfer
 Explains and illustrates content
 Models skills
 Student Role
 Active in responding to teacher questions
 Analyzing examples
 Practicing skills to mastery
 Theoretical Foundations
 Teacher effectiveness research
 Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura)
 effectiveness of modeling on learning skills
 The influence of interaction on learning
(Vygotsky)
 Teacher Effectiveness
Research
 Teachers can increase student
achievement by
 Using time well
 Presenting high quality examples

 Using clear language

 Providing effective feedback

 Questioning students
 Direct Instruction Defined
DI is academically focused, teacher-
directed instruction that uses sequenced
and structured materials
 Goals are clear to students
 Coverage of content is extensive
 Performance of students is monitored
 Feedback is immediate
 Characteristics of Direct
Instruction
 Reviewing the previous day’s work
 Presenting new material in clear and
logical steps
 Providing guided practice
 Giving feedback with correctives
 Providing independent practice
 Reviewing to consolidate learning
 Social Cognitive Theory
 Bandura (1989, 1997)
 Learning by observing the behavior of
others
 Central to theory is MODELING of the
desired behavior for students
 Direct Instruction incorporates the
benefits of modeling into lesson design
 Social Cognitive Theory
 Vygotsky (1978)
 Verbal interaction (language) helps
students learn
 Direct Instruction is effective because it
adopted two concepts from the work of
Vygotsky
 Social Cognitive Theory Cont.
 First concept--SCAFFOLDING
 Scaffolding is the instructional support teachers
provide as students learn
 Breaking skills into subskills
 Asking questions, with increasing difficulty level
 Modeling the steps
 Presenting examples
 Providing prompts and cues
 Social Cognitive Theory Cont.
 Second concept--ZONE OF PROXIMAL
DEVELOPMENT (ZPD)
 State of learning in which a student
cannot solve a problem or perform a skill
alone and needs the help of a teacher
 Outside of ZPD, students either don’t
need any help or lack the prerequisite
skills or background knowledge
 Planning Lessons using DI
 Four steps
 Identifying topics (concepts and procedural
skills
 Specifying objectives (automaticity and
transfer)
 Identifying prerequisite knowledge

 Selecting problems and examples

Implementing Lessons with DI
 Phase 1: Introduction and review
 Students are drawn into the lesson
 Teacher attracts students’ attention

 Teacher activates background knowledge

through a thorough review of prerequisite
knowledge or skills
Implementing Lessons with DI
 Phase 2: Presentation
 New content is presented and explained
 Teacher begins schema production by
explaining and illustrating the concept or
explaining and modeling the skill being
taught
 Teacher promotes involvement by modeling,
providing examples, and actively questioning
students to guide their understanding
 Implementing Lessons with DI
 Phase 3--Guided practice
 Students practice the concept or skill under the
teacher’s guidance with high levels of interaction
 Teacher helps students develop perceptions of
competence
 Teacher ensures success
 Teacher monitors progress
 Role of teacher changes. Teacher moves from
information provider and modeler to COACH,
withdrawing instructional support as students master
skill.
Implementing Lessons with DI
 Phase 4--Independent practice
 Students practice using the concept or skill on their
own
 Students develop automaticity
 Students develop the ability to transfer their
understanding to new contexts
 Two stages: (1) students practice on their own under
teacher supervision and (2) students work on their
own on a homework assignment
 Increasing Motivation with DI
 The guided practice of DI develops
perceptions of competence. Perception
of competence is highly motivating. As
students become more competent in
using the concept or skill, they equate
their hard work with success.
 Applications of DI
 Direct Instruction can be used to teach
generalizations, principles and rules.

(We will discuss generalization, principles

and rules later in the semester)
 DI and Diverse Learners
 DI has been shown to be especially
effective with learners from diverse
backgrounds
 Explicit approach to teaching (with modeling)
 Interactive nature, constant monitoring
 Structured approach, extensive practice

All contribute to greater success for diverse

learners