Unit II: Models in Teaching Mathematics

A. THE DIRECT INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL

1. Direct Instruction: The Research Base

 Comprehensive system of instruction

It is a complex way of looking at all aspects of instruction – from classroom organization
and management to the quality of teacher-student interactions and the design of curriculum
materials.

 Refer to patterns of teacher behavior that are correlated with enhanced academic
performance of the students. (Rosenshine(1976; Roseshine & Stevens, 1984))
Focuses on teacher behavior that and classroom organization, with particular emphasis
on how instructional time is used in the classroom.

 Recognizes a special two sets of challenges:

(1) Must design an effective instructional system for the teaching of academic skills,
(2) Must develop a delivery system that will get the instructional system to teachers and
students.
It is a comprehensive model that covers the details of curriculum design, teaching
techniques for low-performing students, implementation policy, and teacher training.

2. Basic Characteristics of Direct Instruction

 Teacher provides retrospect of the prior lessons
 Teacher summarizes content and goal of the lesson.
 Teacher provides instruction in interaction with students.
 Teacher regulates guided practice.
 Teacher uses independent/individual seatwork.
 Teacher provides feedback during lesson.
 Teacher concludes lesson with summary of lesson content.

How Does Direct Instruction (DI) Works? (Siegfried Engelmann)

 Students are placed in instructions at their level

When students begin the program, each student is tested to find out which skills they have
already mastered and which ones they need to work on. From this, students are grouped
together with other students needing to work on the same skills. These groups are organized
by the level of the program that is appropriate for students, rather than the grade level the
students are in.

 The program’s structure is designed to ensure mastery of the content.

The program is organized so that skills are introduced gradually, giving children a chance to
learn those skills and apply them before being required to learn another new set of skills.
Skills and concepts are taught in isolation and then integrated with other skills into more
sophisticated, higher-level applications.

 Instruction is modified to accommodate each student’s rate of learning.

A particularly wonderful part about DI is that students are retaught or accelerated at the
rate at which they learn. If they need more practice with a specific skill, teachers can provide
the additional instruction within the program to ensure students master the skill.
Conversely, if a student is easily acquiring the new skills and needs to advance to the next
 level, students can be moved to a new placement so that they may continue adding to the
skills they already possess.

3. Underlying Principles of Direct Instruction

Direct Instruction operates on five key philosophical principles:

 All children can be taught.
 All children can improve academically and in terms of self-image.
 All teachers can succeed if provided with adequate training and materials.
 Low performers and disadvantaged learners must be taught at a faster rate than
typically occurs if they are to catch up to their higher-performing peers.
 All details of instruction must be controlled to minimize the chance of students'
misinterpreting the information being taught and to maximize the reinforcing effect of
instruction.

4. Goal for Direct Instruction

“Do more in less time.”

Accelerating student learning by carefully controlling the features of curriculum design and instructional
delivery.
- Marchand-Martella, Slocum, & Martella, 2004

There are three main components to the design and delivery of DI programs. These include:
 Program Design,
(a) Careful content analysis that promotes generalization.
 teaching the "big ideas" of instruction
(b) Clear communication.
 the "wording of instruction" as well as how instruction is sequenced and examples are
introduced
(c) Clear instructional formats
 specifies what teachers are to do/say and what responses students should produce
(d) Sequencing of skills
 prerequisites are taught before a strategy is taught; easy skills are taught before more
difficult skills; strategies/information likely to be confused are separated; instances
consistent with a rule are taught before exceptions
(e) Track organization
 activity sequences are targeted that teach skills over multiple lessons to ensure firm
responding

 Organization of Instruction
(a) Instructional grouping
 using flexible skill grouping as compared to "tracking"
(b) Instructional time
 increasing academic learning time-the time students are engaged with high success
rates
(c) Continuous assessment
 providing on-going in-program assessments to inform instructional practice
 Teacher/Student Interactions
(a) Active student participation
 increasing opportunities for students to respond and receive feedback
(b) Unison responding
 increasing student responses by having them chorally respond
(c) Signals
 providing a cue to evoke unison oral response
(d) Pacing
 promoting active student engagement with brisk teacher pacing
(e) Teaching to mastery
 ensuring firm responding over time
(f) Error corrections
 minimizing student errors by carefully sequencing instruction; when errors do occur,
using careful error correction procedures-model, lead, test, retest
(g) Motivation
 enhancing motivation through high levels of student success

5. Planning for Direct Instruction

 Specifying Clear Goals
Establishing learning objectives for lessons, activities, and projects, and then making
sure that students have understood the goals.

 Identifying Prerequisite Knowledge

Assessing students’ prior knowledge allows the teacher to focus and adapt their
teaching plan. For students, it helps them to construct connections between old and new
knowledge.

 Selecting Examples and problem

Provide exercises that is leveled on the knowledge and capability of the students and
aligned to the learning objectives of the lesson.

Prepared by:
Ms. Vanessa C. Collera