Direct+Instruction

Use the following resources to help you answer the following questions:
(Aim to spend about 60-90 minutes exploring the resources. Take notes and develop a place/system for keeping track of your learning. Write responses to each of the following questions - no more than two pages. When it makes sense, reference specific articles/websites in your responses. Upload your answers to Blackboard.)
 * What is "direct instruction"? (prose response)
 * When have you experienced forms of direct instruction? Does it "work" for you? Why or why not? Under what circumstances? (prose response)
 * What are characteristics of effective direct instruction? (list response)
 * What are characteristics of less-effect direct instruction? (list response)
 * Why do you think there is so much controversy swirling around direct instruction? (prose response)
 * Do you think the sage on the stage" is a relevant metaphor for teaching today? (prose response)

"Direct Instruction" - Definitions

 * The term "direct instruction" is used in a variety of ways, sometimes as a __general category__ and sometimes as a __very specific teaching method__
 * For our purposes, direct instruction refers to the broad category of instruction which is //teacher-centered// and focuses on //direct delivery of information/content//
 * Common varieties of direct instruction include //lecture//, and //explicit instruction (step-by-step, structured lessons with clear teaching/learning steps//
 * Direct instruction is regularly presented as the "most-effective" __and__ the "least effective" teaching approach. The devil is in the details, of course! Like any instructional approach, its success or failure depends on the type, quality, purpose, and context in which it's used.
 * Lecture is probably the most familiar type of direct instruction.

Watch two classroom examples

 * [|Explicit Instruction - video examples] (Choose one of these lessons under "video secondary" on left hand column of the page)
 * [|Interactive Lecture - Video - High School English]
 * [|Engaging Students in Direct Instruction]

Skim

 * [|Twelve Ways to Ensure an Effective Lecture]
 * [|What is an Interactive Lecture?]
 * [|A New Way to Lecture: Using Web 2.0 Tools to Create Interactive Lectures]

Read

 * [|Sage on the Stage]
 * [|Ten Big Problems with Lecture]

Peruse according to your interest.

 * [[file:learningconcepts/Active Engagement Strategies.pdf|Active Engagement Strategies for Direct Instruction]]
 * [|Exploring the Foundations of Explicit Instruction]
 * [|Explicit Instruction - PD from Buffalo]
 * [|Interactive Lecture Tutorial]
 * [|High School 101: Notetaking]'
 * [|36 Ideas for Interactive Lecture Formats]
 * [|Death by Powerpoint]
 * [|Life after Death by Powerpoint]
 * [|How Powerpoint is Killing Critical Thought]