Direct Instruction: Main Components are Program Design, Organization of Instruction and Student-Teacher Interactions.

PROGRAM DESIGN

Clear communications

1. The wording principle
2. The set-up principle
3. The difference principle
4. The sameness principle
5. The testing principle

Instructional formats are designed to structure dialogue between teachers and student. A format specifies the way that teachers will present each example, explanations that they will give, questions that they will ask and corrections that they will use.

1. Shift from overtized to covertized problem solving strategies.
2. Shift from simplified contexts to complex contexts.
3. Shift from prompted to unprompted formats.
4. Shift from massed practice to distributed practice.
5. Shift from immediate feedback to delayed feedback.
6. Shift from emphasis on the teacher’s role as a source of information to an emphasis on the learner’s role as a source of information.

Skills are sequenced to maximize student success and minimize points of confusion.

1. Prerequisite skills for a strategy are taught before the strategy itself.
2. Instances consistent with a strategy are taught before exceptions to that strategy.
3. Easy skills are taught before more difficult ones.
4. Strategies and information that are likely to be confused are separated in the sequence.

Instructional topics and objectives are organized into tracks that allow for systematic skill development across the length of a program and support cumulative review and application.

1. Tracks rather than units provide the organizational framework for all DI programs.
2. Tracks are sequences of activities that teach a skill across multiple lessons.
3. DI can extend teaching and practice of a skill across many lessons and weave prerequisite skill tracks into the tracks that integrate these skills into more complex strategies.

ORGANIZATION OF INSTRUCTION:

Instructional Grouping

1. Each student receives instruction appropriate to his or her individual needs.
2. Students place at levels where they have the prerequisite skills and have not yet mastered the objectives.
3. This type of grouping enables the teacher to interact with and address the needs of all individuals in that group.

Instructional Time

1. Allocate sufficient time.
2. Use time efficiently.
3. Make certain that students are involved in learning activities that they can perform successfully.

Scripted Presentation

1. Assures that students access instruction that is extremely well designed
2. Relieves teachers of the responsibility for designing, field testing and refining instruction in every subject.

Continuous Assessment

1. Provides feedback on effectiveness of teaching.
2. Allows evaluation of adequacy of student skill development.
3. Allows critical instructional decisions to be made.
4. .All decisions are driven by students’ performance data, from initial placement and grouping, to acceleration of instruction.

STUDENT-TEACHER INTERACTIONS:

Active Student Participation

1. Students interact with the instructional material and receive relevant feedback.
2. Student engagement means less likelihood to become distracted and distract others.
3. Teachers have an excellent understanding of each student’s current level of mastery and can make the best decisions about instruction.

Group Unison Responses

1. All students receive high quality practice on every item because they provide their own response and cannot echo other students.
2. All students are busy learning the material and are less likely to become distracted.
3. Teachers can quickly assess the skills of all the students and be well informed about their skills.

Signals (used for group unison response)

1. A focus cue to gain the students’ attention to the task.
2. Think time that varies depending on the skills of students.
3. A verbal cue followed by a pause.
4. A hand signal.

Pacing

1. A rapid pace allows teachers to cover and students to learn more material.
2. A brisk pace holds students attention and reduces time between related information enhancing student learning.
3. Well-paced instruction keeps students engaged and reduces behavior problems.

Teaching to Mastery

1. Students should be at least 70% correct on information that is being introduced for the first time.
2. Students should be at least 90% correct on skills taught earlier in the program.
3. At the end of a lesson, all students should be 100% firm on all tasks and activities.
4. Student error rates should be low enough to ensure that teachers have sufficient time to complete a lesson.

Correction Procedures

1. Immediately after an error, point to error or say stop.
2. Demonstrate the correct answer (model).
3. Have the student do it with you (lead).
4. Ask the students to respond to the original item (test).
5. Give several other items, then retest the item that was missed (retest).