Explicit Direct Instruction

Critical Elements

Teaching Grade Level Content

The higher the grade the greater the disparity

Test Scores go up when students are taught grade level content.

Students perform no higher than the assignments given

Students cannot learn what they are not taught.

Powerful Effects on Student Learning

The Taught Curriculum Instructional - typical classroom practice Assessment –

Formative – influence instructional decisionsAccountability – identify students for interventions

Staff Development Implementation – practice and feedback

Effective Teaching

Effective – research based proven strategies

Efficient – maximizing learning in the shortest amount of time.Provides an emphasis on making sense

Relevant – Connected to real life applications

Cognitive Learning Strategies Rehearsal

Simple repetitionCumulative repetitionCopying materialNote takingUnderlining textGuided practice Independent practice

Cognitive Learning Strategies Elaboration Strategies

Mnemonics ImageryParaphrasingPredictingSummarizingCreating metaphors, analogies or similesAsking and answering questions

Cognitive Learning Strategies

Organizational StrategiesClusteringMnemonicsSelecting Main IdeaOutliningMapping

Cognitive Learning Strategies

Pattern Recognition – helps learn conceptsGeneralizationExamplesMatched non-examples

Action – Sequence KnowledgeProcedural Steps

Learning Objectives

Situation A measurable student behavior

What the student will be able to do as a result of instruction

Why are objectives important? Instructional purpose is clearMust align to the independent practice

Learning Objectives

Must be based upon the content standardsContent standards are deconstructed

Language must be preciseTo writeTo listTo analyzeTo solve

Checking for Understanding

Provides the earliest measure of whether students are learning the content.Continuous CFU is the backbone of Effective teaching

Feedback from CFU allows the teacher to make instructional decisions during the lesson.

Checking for Understanding

Madeline Hunter defined teaching as:A conscious stream of decisions before, during and

after instruction to maximize the probability of learning taking place…

Instructional Questioning

Teach Ask – the question Pause Pick – a student Listen Encourage or Elaborate if necessary

Instructional Questioning

Individual Group Random – non-volunteers White Boards Students must prove their comprehension CFU – on what was just taught CFU – interspersed continually throughout lessons

Instructional Questioning

Think time Go Kinetic – white boards – all students show

answers at the same time. Popsicle sticks – numbering systems, etc. Time to find an answer Paraphrase – higher level

Feedback – Hunter - RLL

Timely - specific feedback – closely aligned to improved student achievement.

Correct student errors as soon as they begin making them!Needs to be provided throughout lessons as needed.

During presentations & Guided PracticeReactive – following independent practice

Preview - Review

Purpose is to activate prior knowledge

All new learning is based upon prior learning – the brain associates new learning with long term memory to make sense of the new content.

Preview - Review

PreviewNew material to be presented by activating -

connecting to prior knowledge or experiences

Persuasive – trying to convince your mom to let you stay up later – real life experience

Preview - Review

ReviewMaterial that has been presented previously that deals

with the lesson – reviews content students have already been taught. – makes explicit connections

This past week we have been studying about settings. The critical elements of a setting include….

Preview - Review Student’s prior knowledge activated

Pertinent sub skill taught

Students are told the connection to the new material to be taught. The idea is to make the learning of the new content easier for the

students by connecting to something they already know.

CFU

Explanation

Definitions Examples

Non – examples

Modeling Process

Explanation What it is – making sense – the big idea – concept – the

pattern Definition, rules, steps, etc

Why it is important Relevance to real life – associated with brain research

How it is done –

CFU – at each point

Modeling Teacher as expert

Modeling is a powerful method of instructionTeacher provides inner thoughts –

This is how I do it – first I ….Strategic solutions

Modeling is important because students are seeing and hearing how experts solve problems – strategies, methods of remembering, how decisions are made…

Modeling

CFUWhat was I thinking when…How did I remember….How did I decide…

Demonstration Big Idea

Physical demonstration or showing how to do something. Not practical for every lesson

Why Important Accommodates visual and kinesthetic learners Visual – 46% Auditory – 19% Kinesthetic – 35%

Demonstration

How it is done –

Teacher explains what, why or how while using a physical object.

For maximum benefit – students also have objects

Guided Practice

Works problems with the students at the same time

Works every type of problem that the students will be asked to do independently

Provides many examples and non-examples

Guided Practice

Important

Students are directly supervised by the teacher – who can correct misunderstanding quickly and efficiently.

The best way is to begin working through problems slowly – for example a three step problem

CFU after each step

Guided Practice

PurposeProvide practice – rehearsal for learning to occurProvide immediate feedback – ensure correct thinkingDetermine if additional teaching is neededEnsure student comprehension prior to assigning

independent practice

Closure Prime instructional time

Students show what they have learned

Closure is not a summary by the teacher Closure is a final checking for understanding Did the students master the objective? Is more guided practice needed? Is more teaching needed – altered instructional strategy?

Independent Practice Massed practice for efficient learning

Short intense practice sessions produce more learning than fewer but longer sessions.

Distributed PracticeMultiple practice sessions spread out over a period of

time Increases probability that the learning is stored in long

term memory