Direct instruction program

Fluency with math really helps a child be able to build on previous skills. I still have those math facts memorized and the fluency helps build more math skills without having to stop and think about it. The DI lessons are broken down by exercises on different topics and skills.

We use a simple rating scale data sheet to record data on each exercise within the lesson. If there is an exercise that the student is struggling with, we would repeat it until it is mastered or possibly pull it out and teach it separately. Do you have to use a program for DI? Can you work on a skill you know the student has difficulty with using your own curriculum with DI?

An example would be reading and the student has difficulty with phonological awareness. You want to work with them on skills like digraphs, diphthongs, and blending. There is the program Project Read but do you have to use a program for it to be DI? Thank you for any information regarding this. As Dr.

Jeffrey R. Jones puts it,. Jones explains that many educators find their ideologies undercut by the hard data. Rather than change, many simply ignored the study and continued as before. A more recent example of this is the continued use of whole language reading education in schools, in spite of overwhelming evidence of failure. Today, we find schools spending more and more to implement forms of "affective" and "cognitive" educational programs, while continuing to turn away from anything close to Direct Instruction.

This has not resulted in improved basic skills, improved thinking, or improved self-esteem. In Dr. Jones's thoroughly documented booklet on the effects and consequences of many modern educational practices, I especially recommend his essay, "Choosing Effective Instructional Programs. Jones also discusses research on the long-term effects of those who received Direct Instruction in Project Follow Through and in a separate study conducted by Gersten and Keating. Kids receiving true Direct Instruction were much more likely to graduate from high school and to be accepted into college and to show long-term gains in reading, language, and math scores.

Another valuable resource about Direct Instruction is the video "Failing Grades" which features researchers not movie stars who discuss the results of scientific studies comparing the performance of American and Canadian school children with those of other countries.

The U. Project Follow Through study see below is discussed in detail, as well as the limitations of "student-centered" learning e. Likewise, a U. The following sources have been recommended as studies showing the long-term benefits of Direct Instruction on a child:. The idea of simply educating kids seems to have taken a backseat to most educational experts and administrators. They miss the point that kids with real academic skills, especially skills in reading, writing, and mathematics, are more likely to overcome social barriers, more likely to have genuine self esteem, and most likely to be genuinely prepared for the challenges of life and the workplace.

By emphasizing so many things besides a genuine, classical education, the educational establishment tends to sell our kids short and perpetuate many of the problems they claim to be solving. Consider the case of Wesley Elementary School in Houston. Yet it ranks among the best schools of Houston, with first-graders placing at the 82nd percentile level in reading tests 50 points higher than the expected level for similar at-risk schools.

What has made Wesley so successful? The answer is classical education in the form of Direct Instruction curriculum designed by Siegfried Engelmann, an example of the much ridiculed "sage-on-the-stage" approach. This Direct Instruction system boosts reading, writing, and math scores by 30 to 40 percentile points in at-risk schools. Sadly, Engelmann, like others who successfully defy popular fads in educational reform, has been rejected by much of the educational establishment. His success is an embarrassment to them.

Direction Instruction has been developed and refined for decades, particularly at the University of Oregon. It offers detailed packages and training materials suitable for almost any teacher.

It is not for elite kids with healthy families, but was "shaped to succeed in the educational killing fields of urban America. And it is focused on a classical education, giving real competence in reading, writing, and math to enable kids to soar in their educational future. Engelmann's slogan is, "If the student hasn't learned, the teacher hasn't taught. It was in Switzerland where I first encountered his name.

As a Swiss educator described his work to me in warm, glowing terms back in , I remember feeling most uneasy about the entire premise of Piaget's approach, which seemed more suited for a naive communal experiment than for real education.

The program was funded from until , when funding was stopped due to data revealing that there was little or no benefit from the program. However, Project Follow Through did offer the first ever clearly documented empirical proof that the Direct Instruction model was the most effective method of teaching reading, arithmetic, language, spelling, and positive self-image. Direct instruction was the only method out of twenty-two forms of instruction that consistently produced positive results.

Direction instruction is, by far, the most widely used method of teaching. Recent studies cast doubts about whether it is the best way to teach, but it is empirically proven to be able to consistently raise the average test scores of a school. This has resulted in the success of the teaching method and its widespread use in the classroom. Your Email Address. What is Direct Instruction?