As an avid reader of education research, I spend a lot of time investigating what works in teaching. There is one instructional system that I think is effective, efficient, and scalable to all grades and subject areas, and I call that system explicit instruction.
One problem I face when spreading the news about this effective teaching system is that it is widely misunderstood. When most people refer to direct or explicit instruction, they either mean a boring lecture, or simply a teacher explaining the material. While explanation is certainly a part of it, when researchers talk about direct or explicit instruction, they tend to mean a series of interconnected principles that include a brisk pace of teaching, a high success rate, and lots of interactive elements such as questioning, guided practice, and checking for understanding – among other things. These principles were derived from the “Process-Product research”, a body of research that investigated which teaching moves (Process) led to the highest student achievement gains (Product). The teaching moves of the most successful teachers were reported in Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction, which he called direct instruction, and others have called active teaching or explicit instruction.
Arguably the most effective form of explicit teaching goes by the name Direct Instruction, which is capitalized to distinguish it from its generic cousin, direct instruction. Formerly known as DISTAR, this system uses pre-tests to create homogenous student groupings, a scripted curriculum to facilitate unambiguous communication between teachers and students, and a high rate of student responses and corrective feedback – among other things. I recently started using these materials to teach students foundational reading and numeracy, and it is the most fulfilled I have felt since leaving the classroom to be an instructional coach and consultant. While only a small percentage of teachers have access to Direct Instruction materials (though it’s my dream that everyone did), the theory and instructional design of DI are extremely important for practitioners of explicit forms of teaching to know.
Is your school ready to take the plunge into explicit and direct instruction so that all kids get what they need to succeed? I provide in-person and online trainings to schools at a highly reasonable rate. Have a listen to the podcast below to learn more about me and my journey into explicit instruction and use my Contact page for more details.
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