Direct Instruction

Direct instruction may refer to a general approach to instruction, very specific instructional strategies, or a set of published curriculum based on direct instruction strategies. In the first case, direct instruction describes any instructional approach that identifies and presents specific skills during instruction. In the second case, direct instruction is used as another name for the group of instructional practices known as explicit instruction. The third reference is to curricula developed by the founders of direct instruction and their colleagues. These programs include Reading Mastery, Corrective Reading, Corrective Mathematics, Connecting Math Concepts, Language for Learning, and others. The characteristics of direct instruction include both effective teaching practices and the design and structure of curriculum.

Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley Becker are considered to be the founders of direct instruction and were authors of the first direct instruction curriculum in the 1960s. Both Engelmann and Becker have contributed to many of the current direct instruction curricula. Although direct instruction curricula have been a part of educational programming across the country for 50 years, they had been applied primarily in special education settings. The No Child Left Behind initiative, with its emphasis on evidence-based instruction and accountability, increased both the visibility and use of direct instruction programs. Because so few other curricula had any evidence supporting their effectiveness, direct instruction programs were often recommended in grant programs such as the Reading First Initiative. Proponents of constructivist and other child-directed approaches to learning have resisted recommendations for direct instruction approaches, particularly in the area of early reading, because the scripted, teacher-directed program does not fit other popular reading programs.

Direct instruction draws on the effective teaching literature and principles of behavioral theory. The focus of direct instruction is on the unambiguous presentation of specific skills targeted for learning and on the careful manipulation of both the context and the content of instruction. Teaching practices and curriculum are structured to maximize the probability that students will learn efficiently and learn information to mastery. All teaching is designed to communicate to the students exactly what skills they are expected to know and exactly what response form is expected. The approach is typically characterized as teacher directed, because teachers lead instructional activities.

Teaching practices representative of direct instruction are based on the effective teaching literature. This literature includes research conducted by Rosenshine, Brophy, Good, and others on teacher behaviors that can affect the rate or amount of student learning. Some of these teacher behaviors related to student performance include providing correction and feedback, prompting learning, providing opportunities for practice, and maximizing engaged time. The collection of this seminal research on good teaching forms the foundations of explicit or direct instruction.

Direct instruction presentation techniques include the following: a quick pace of instruction, small and homogeneous instructional groups, many opportunities for each child to respond, choral responding, signals used to cue responses, use of predictable question and response routines, and providing immediate corrective feedback when a student makes an error. Presentation strategies also support the emphasis of direct instruction on clear communication between teacher and student. Initial instruction involves modeling the correct response or skill, leading or guided practice, immediate assessment of individual responses, and retesting the skills. Direct instruction emphasizes teaching to mastery, including many opportunities for practice and cumulative review. Direct instruction is structured so that the teacher can know how well each student performs on each task. Monitoring students' responses to the frequent questions inherent in direct instruction is critical when it comes to ensuring that learning is taking place.

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