Direct instruction is a “teacher-directed teaching method” (Lucie, 2019). It means that teachers teach the students explicitly, and give guided instructions directly in front of the classroom (Lucie, 2019). Given lessons are “well-developed and carefully planned around small learning increments and clearly defined and prescribed teaching tasks” (Siegfried). During the class, Teachers sometimes help to review instructions by giving “an activity or modeling a process such as a scientific experiment,” which lets learners know what they are expected to do. Questions are asked to ensure students understand the material. Most classes I took were based on direct instruction since I was a kid. It is an effective way to transfer a great deal of information to students in a limited amount of time.
The effectiveness of the course is mainly reflected in the following:
1.Students are placed in instruction at their skill level.
2.The program’s structure is designed to ensure mastery of the content.
3.Instruction is modified to accommodate each student’s rate of learning.
4.Programs are field tested and revised before publication.
(Siegfried)
Youtube Video: Direct Instruction : A Thales Academy Short Film
Blueprint:
Our group topic is descriptive statistics, where we teach learners what descriptive statistics is and five basic descriptive statistics concepts. They are mean, mode, median, variance, and standard deviation. This course is delivered as an optional intro to statistics workshop to the regular Grade 10-12 BC Curriculum mathematics, and it can be taken at learners’ own pace. This is not a teacher-directed teaching method. Learners could study at any time and decide which components to start from. Activities and reading materials are assigned for students to learn in their own time.
. References:
Lucie Renard (2019). Direct instruction – A practical guide to effective teaching. https://www.bookwidgets.com/blog/2019/03/direct-instruction-a-practical-guide-to-effective-teaching
Siegfried Engelmann. National Institute for Direction Instruction. https://www.nifdi.org/15/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=27
Granite State College. Ch.4 Direct Instruction
Image. https://www.worksheetlibrary.com/teachingtips/directinstruction.html
Enze May 31, 2021
Hi Shanshan, thanks for sharing the post. After reading your post, my understanding of direct instruction is much better. For the blueprint, I agree with you that the Statistics workshop is not used by direct instruction. However, if this is a live lecture or face-to-face class for grade 10 students to attend, I believe direct instruction is the best learning approach to start with. Then, the cooperative learning activities can be added after learning the material after teachers. Thank you!