Teaching methodsLesson 1 of 3 in the course Instructional approaches

Direct Instruction: Teaching Sequence, Evidence, and Critiques

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

Save course
Lesson progress
0 / 5

Your progress is kept in this browser only.Sign up to save it

Summary

Direct instruction (DI) is an explicit approach to teaching skills and content through clear explanations, demonstrations, and guided practice. This lesson introduces its core teaching sequence and traces the development of the DISTAR program.

Direct instruction describes explicit teaching in which an instructor presents and explains material rather than leaving students to discover the central content entirely on their own. It can include lectures, demonstrations, discussions, tutorials, laboratory work, workshops, and practical experiences. The term Direct Instruction with capital letters can also refer specifically to the model developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley C. Becker.

All flashcards

What is direct instruction?
An approach that teaches skills and content explicitly through explanation, demonstration, and structured practice, rather than relying solely on student discovery.
What are the stages of “I do, We do, You do”?
The instructor models the skill, instructor and students practice together, and students then practice independently while the instructor monitors.
What is DISTAR?
The Direct Instruction System for Teaching Arithmetic and Reading, a formal program developed by Engelmann and Becker from Direct Instruction principles.
Who implemented the early University of Illinois DI preschool program?
Siegfried Engelmann, Carl Bereiter, and Jean Osborn implemented the program in the mid-1960s.
What did Project Follow Through compare?
It compared more than 20 educational interventions in high-poverty communities over several years; DI was reported to have significantly positive effects across all measured outcomes.

Quiz questions

  1. Which approach is characteristic of direct instruction?Answer: The instructor explains or models content, then supports guided practice.
  2. What does DISTAR stand for?Answer: Direct Instruction System for Teaching Arithmetic and Reading.
  3. Which subjects were emphasized in the early University of Illinois preschool lessons?Answer: Language, reading, and mathematics.
  4. What was a notable reported result for Direct Instruction in Project Follow Through?Answer: It was the only intervention with significantly positive effects across all measured outcomes.
  5. How are students commonly grouped in a Direct Instruction program?Answer: By skill levels identified through assessments before instruction begins.

Based on the Wikipedia article Direct instruction, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

More in Teaching methods

All Teaching methods lessons
Teaching methodsPeer Assessment: Feedback, Grading, and Fairness5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Teaching methodsLesson Study: Research Lessons, Shared Themes, and the PDCA Cycle5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Teaching methodsInstructional Design: Learning Theories, Models, and Motivation5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Teaching methodsBlended Learning: Models, Delivery, Benefits, and Implementation Challenges5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Teaching methodsPeer Mentoring: Program Design, Educational Uses, and Applications5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →Teaching methodsFlipped Classrooms: Design, Evidence, and Implementation Challenges5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 4 gamesPlay free →