Direct instruction

While our unit was not designed with activities delivered with direct instruction, I do believe that it definitely has a place in it (two activities). People often might think of direct instruction as an outdated teaching style; however, I do think that it could be one of the most effective modes of instruction when it’s used well.  Coming from a Hungarian background, we were taught mostly with this teaching style and while it might have not worked for everyone, it worked for me.

Direct instruction is a teacher-centered teaching mode where the teacher lectures the majority of the lesson, while students listen to the guided instructions. At least, that is what most think when they hear about direct instruction. While this might work for some students, including myself, it might not work for some. Therefore, teachers nowadays have to be creative, know their students and be brave to experiment with various teaching modes as they see fit. 

Below are the 6 steps of direct instruction:

  1. Introduction/review

To set the stage for learning and to activate students’ prior knowledge, entry tickets are excellent activities to use as introductions. In our unit, we used Bookwidgets as an entry ticket if students are learning online, but it could be through a paper-pen format if teaching is in-person.

  1. Present the new material

Through the teacher demonstrating a warm up dance, it will engage more students than if instructions were delivered on paper only. The warm up activity, Cupid Shuffle, is a fun yet simple dance with easy to follow steps so all students will have success.

  1. Guided practice

Students will follow the teacher’s demonstration and instructions, then are able to practice in groups while giving each other feedback.

  1. Feedback and correctives

During practice, the teacher is able to provide feedback to the class as a whole to correct common mistakes.

  1. Independent practice

This step could be helpful to come up with their own dance sequence utilizing the feedback they received and using the new moves they just learned. 

  1. Evaluation/review

The evaluation could be on the dance they learned through the teacher demonstration or on a new dance they created with the moves they learned.

 I believe that teachers should be able to use various methods of teaching as they fit their students’ learning styles and classroom activities, and not shy away from direct instruction.

Renard, Lucie: Direct Instruction – A practical guide to effective teaching