Direct instruction

Direct instruction (DI) is a general term for the explicit teaching of a skill-set using lectures or demonstrations of the material to students. A particular subset of direct instruction, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to a specific example of the approach developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley C. Becker. DI teaches by explicit instruction, in contrast to exploratory models such as inquiry-based learning. DI includes tutorials, participatory laboratory classes, discussion, recitation, seminars, workshops, observation, active learning, practica, or internships. Direct instruction (DI) is a general term for the explicit teaching of a skill-set using lectures or demonstrations of the material to students. A particular subset of direct instruction, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to a specific example of the approach developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley C. Becker. DI teaches by explicit instruction, in contrast to exploratory models such as inquiry-based learning. DI includes tutorials, participatory laboratory classes, discussion, recitation, seminars, workshops, observation, active learning, practica, or internships. DI relies on a systematic curriculum design, delivered by implementation of a prescribed behavioral script. On the premise that all students can learn and all teachers successfully teach if given effective training in specific techniques, teachers may be evaluated based on measurable student learning. In some special education programs, direct instruction is used in resource rooms, when teachers assist with homework completion and academic remediation. The term Direct Instruction applies specifically to a pedagogical model developed by Siegfried Engelmann in 1964 at the University of Illinois Institute for Research on Exceptional Children. DISTAR was a specific direct instruction model developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley C. Becker. Engelmann and Becker sought to identify teaching methods that would accelerate the progress of historically disadvantaged elementary school students. DISTAR, an acronym for Direct Instruction System for Teaching Arithmetic and Reading, gained prominence during Project Follow Through, the largest educational study ever conducted in America.