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Citation
Killen, Roy. 2009
'Using direct instruction as a teaching strategy'
In: Effective teaching strategies : lessons from research and practice / Roy Killen. 5th ed.
South Melbourne, Vic. : Cengage Learning, 2009. Chapter 5, pp. 117-145



This file is a digitised version of printed copyright material. Due to the process used to create it,
its accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Please refer to the original published version if you have any
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Using direct inst uction
as a teaching str tegy
Teaching can be thought of as the process of guiding learner s as they work with
information. Teachers help learners to find information, remember it, understand it,
organise it, apply it, evaluate it and do creative things with it. Each chapter of this
book will help you to explore different ways in which you guide learners as they
explore information and develop their understanding. The Etrategies that you will learn
about vary from the very direct interactions with learners described in this chapter to
methods that require learners to have high levels of indepe.adence. However, all teaching
strategies are based on some fundamental principles that a7e introduced in this chapter.
There are four key aspects of instruction that promote academic achievement:
organising and explaining material in ways that are appropriate to students' abilities,
creating an environment that fosters learning, helping students become autonomous
learners, and reflecting critically (Davis, 1993). Spady (1998) suggests that even more
important than these issues is the need for both teachers and students to have a clear
understanding of what it is that students are to learn, a view supported by the extensive
work of Hattie (2009). This chapter helps you to investigate . vvays of achieving all of these
things through direct instruction.
This chapter also explores some of the circumstances in which direct instruction
can be an appropriate way to facilitate learning, highlights some of its strengths and
weaknesses, provides guidelines for planning' and implementing this strategy and
suggests ways in which you can evaluate your direct instruction.
When you have mastered the ideas in this chapter you \ vill be able to:
Decide when direct instruction is an appropriate strategy for helping students to
achieve particular learning outcomes.
Prepare thoroughly and thoughtfully for teaching through direct instruction.
Create a learning environment that motivates learners and encourages them to
accept the challenge of achieving worthwhile outcomes.
Present your direct instruction lessons in ways that act: vate and facilitate learning
while catering for the cultural, ethnic, language, learning style and other differences
of the learners.
Evaluate the success of your direct instruction lessons.
Chapter 5: Using direct struCtion as a teaching strate 117
Some important features of
direct instruction
The terms direct instruction or explicit instruction usually refer to whole-class expository
teaching techniques. Simple forms of direct instruction include lectures and demonstrations.
They are teacher-centred approaches in which the teacher delivers academic content in
a highly structured format that direct the activities of learners and maintain a focus on
academic achievement. Kirschner, Sweller and Clark (2006:75) define direct instruction
as 'providing information that fully explains the concepts and procedures that students
are required to learn as well as learning strategy support that is compatible with human
cognitive architecture'.
When used effectively, direct instruction has the following important features:
The learning outcomes and success criteria are made clear tostudents.
The teacher controls the time for various instructional activities.
The teacher organises and controls the sequencing of lesson activities.
There is an emphasis on academic achievement.
The teacher carefully monitors students' activities and learning.
The teacher provides frequent clear feedback tostudents.
The basic forms of direct instruction have been very popular approaches to teaching
for many years you have probably experienced thema lot yet they are often criticised.
The reason for this criticismis simple: when they are implemented poorly they can be
very boring. However, when implemented well, direct instruction remains one of the
most effective ways of promoting student learning. There are two main reasons why
many teachers still use direct instruction. Some teachers use direct instruction because
it gives themmaximumcontrol over what, when and how students learn which is
intuitively attractive to many teachers. Others use direct instruction because it has
strong research support (e.g., Rosenshine, 1986; Ross & Kyle, 1987; Rosenshine, 1995;
Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006; Hattie, 2009). We will explore some of these research
findings later in this chapter.
As you develop skills in using a wide range of teaching strategies, you will find that, in
some circumstances, direct instruction is simply the most appropriate strategy touse. For
example, when students are being introduced toa new area of study it is useful todevelop
their basic knowledge and skills through direct instruction techniques before giving them
a more active role in knowledge-seeking through strategies such as problemsolving or
experimentation. As Brookfield (1990) suggests, there are times when ideas need tobe laid
out for students so that their interconnections are obvious before students can discuss or
reflect critically on those ideas. In such circumstances, direct instruction is quite appropriate.
Rowe (2006) supports this argument. Making a similar point, Geddis (1996:254) highlights
the 'incongruity of leaving children on their own to devise scientific perspectives that
have taken the human race centuries to articulate'. What these writers are saying is that
118Effective teaching strategies
sometimes it is better for teachers to explain and demonstrate things directly rather than
leaving learners to discover knowledge for themselves. Thi; does not mean that direct
instruction excludes the use of constructivist approaches totfaching quite the opposite.
It emphasises that students need careful guidance in order toconstruct meaning fromtheir
learning experiences.
Direct instruction is just one of the tools available toteachers. It should be used when
it is the best approach in a given situation, and must be used thoughtfully and skilfully if
it is to help students learn. Because direct instruction is used so often (particularly in the
formof lectures), it has a reputation of being a dull and borir g technique used by teachers
who are stern, authoritarian, dominant or lazy. This does Lot have to be the case. The
control and structure that characterise direct instruction can be achieved in interesting,
warm, concerned and flexible ways sothat a positive classroomclimate is maintained anc:
students enjoy learning. As with all other teaching strategies, its success depends primarily
on the teacher's enthusiasmand efforts.
In direct instruction, the emphasis is on 'teaching in small steps, providing for student
practice after each step, guiding students during initial practice, and providing all students
with a high level of successful practice' (Rosenshine, 1987:34). Each of these steps requires
considerable skill. The following pages provide a brief summary of ideas that might help
you to develop your direct instruction techniques, prompt ou to reflect on some of the
important issues in teaching and provide a window into Cie literature so that you can
explore these issues in greater depth.
In recent years there has been a proliferation of literature on Direct Instruction (with
a capital `D' and capital '1'). This literature is usually referring tothe specific approaches to
instruction described by Engelmann and Carnine (1991). Their approach incorporates the
general approaches to direct instruction described in this chapter coupled with carefully
designed lesson sequences that focus on small learning increments and clearly defined and
prescribed teaching tasks (often based around prescribed curriculummaterials).This chapter_
is advocating a broader view of direct instruction.
Some advantages of direct
instruction
In a comprehensive review of research linking teacher behaijiour tostudent achievement,
Brophy and Good (1986) emphasise the following points:
In general, academic learning is influenced by the amount of time that students spend
engaged in appropriate academic activities.
Learning is easier for students when their teachers carefully structure new information.
Teachers should help students torelate new information towhat they already know.
Teachers should monitor learner performance and provide corrective feedback.
These claims were reinforced by Hattie's findings of (2009). Kirschner, Sweller and
Chapter 5 1 Using direct i struction as a teaching strate 119
Clark (2006:76) make the additional point that the most effective guidance that teachers
can provide is 'guidance specifically designed tosupport the cognitive processing necessary
for learning'. All of these things are possible through direct instruction, and often it is the
most appropriate way toachieve them.
Direct instruction can be used tohelp students achieve many types of learning outcomes,
particularly those that are based on knowledge, attitudes and values. Direct instruction can
alsobe used todemonstrate skills tostudents, but skill development requires practice by the
learners.
Some of the advantages of direct instruction and some of the situations in which it is
likely tobe an appropriate choice of teaching strategy are summarised in the following list.
Direct instruction can be an efficient way tointroduce students toa new area of study
by giving thema broad overview that defines key concepts and shows how they are
interrelated. This helps students todevelop the foundational knowledge that they need
for later learning (possibly using student-centred strategies).This is particularly useful if
important information (including relevant examples and results of recent research) is not
otherwise readily available tostudents.
Direct instruction can be a very effective way of teaching factual information that is
highly structured (Rosenshine & Stevens, 1986).
Compared with discovery approaches tolearning, direct instruction reduces the cognitive
load on students' working memory (Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006).
Direct instruction allows you to convey a personal interest in the subject (through
an enthusiastic presentation) and this can stimulate the interest and enthusiasmof the
students.
Direct instruction can allow you toprovide a role model of a scholar in a particular field
(e.g., showing students how tothink like a geographer). You can show how problems can
be approached, how information can be analysed or how knowledge in your specialist
field is generated and structured; however, you need toheed the warning of Kirschner.
Sweller and Clark (2006) that presentation and explanation of knowledge are often
more useful tostudents than demonstrating the methods of a specialist field.
Direct instruction allows you to highlight important points or possible difficulties for
students sothat their exposure tothese things is not left tochance.
Direct instruction can be equally effective with large and small classes and with students
frommost cultures.
Direct instruction is one of the most effective approaches for teaching explicit concepts
and skills tolow-achieving students (Berliner, 1982; Ross & Kyle, 1987).
Lectures can be a useful way toprovide information for students whoare poor readers
or whoare not very skilled at locating, organising and interpreting information.
Direct instruction can be an effective way of demonstrating to students that there are
alternative perspectives on issues.
Direct instruction (particularly demonstrations) can provide opportunities tochallenge
students to consider apparent disjunctions between theory (what they predict should
120Effective teaching strategies
happen) and observation (what they actually see). This is the first step towards helping
students toovercome misconceptions or misunderstandings.
Demonstrations allow students to concentrate on the results of some event, rather than
the technicalities of achieving the result.This is particularl/ important when the students
lack the confidence or skills toperformthe task well.
Direct instruction lends itself well to teacher reflection so that you can evaluate your
presentations and refine them.
Many students learn more deeply fromstrongly guided learning than fromdiscovery
(Moreno, 2004).
Generally, direct instruction allows you tocreate a non-threatening (reasonably stress-
free) learning environment for students. Those who are shy, not confident or not
knowledgeable are not forced toparticipate and become embarrassed.
act'

e
Review your learning experiences
Think about some of your learning
experiences at school where your teacher
used direct instruction. Did you enjoy these
lessons? Why? Did you learn very much
fromthese lessons? Why? Doyou think the
teacher used direct instruction for any of
the reasons given above, or for some other
reason?
Are your v ews about direct instruction
at university E ny different fromyour views
about direct instruction in schools? Why?
Some limitations of direct
instruction
Direct instruction is not always the most effective way tohelp students tolearn. Some of its
limitations are summarised in the following list:
Because of the teacher's central role in direct instruction, success of this strategy depencs
heavily on what I have referred toas the 'image' that the ieacher projects (Killen, 1990).
If the teacher does not appear tobe well prepared, knowledgeable, confident, enthusiastic
and well organised, the students will become bored or dis tracted and their learning will
be hindered. Some of the student-centred strategies dealt with in later chapters are less
dependent on the image of the teacher.
Direct instruction relies heavily on students being able toassimilate information througa
listening, observing and note taking. Students whoare nc t very good at these skills will
find it difficult tolearn fromdirect instruction.
Chapter 5 I I Using direct i struction as a teaching strateg
When the material tobe learned is very complex, detailed or abstract, direct instruction
(particularly in the formof a lecture) may not provide students with sufficient
opportunities toprocess and Understand the information being presented.
It is very difficult tocater for the individual differences between students' abilities, prior
knowledge, interest in the subject, rates of learning, levels of understanding or learning
styles during direct instruction, particularly in large classes.
Because students have limited active involvement in direct instruction, there are few
opportunities in this type of lesson for themto develop their social and interpersonal
skills (such as their communication skills).
There is some research evidence that the high level of structure and teacher control that
is characteristic of direct instruction may have a negative impact on students' problem-
solving abilities, independence and curiosity (Ross & Kyle, 1987).
Direct instruction presents learners with the teacher's view of how the content is (or
can be) organised and synthesised.This will not always be a view that students can easily
understand or one with which they agree, and they may have limited opportunities to
explore or debate these issues.
If the direct instruction does not involve some student participation (such as asking
and answering questions), their interest will be lost after 10-15 minutes, and they will
remember little of the content.
If used too frequently, direct instruction can lead students to believe that it is the
teacher's job to tell themall they need to know they may not be encouraged to take
responsibility for their own learning.
Because direct instruction (particularly in the formof lectures and demonstrations)
involves a lot of one-way communication, there may be limited opportunities to gain
feedback about strident understanding.The teacher may not be aware that some students
have developed misconceptions.
Demonstrations rely heavily on students' observation skills and, unfortunately, many
students are not skilful observers. Hence, they may not see what you want themto see
in a demonstration.
Some things, such as psychomotor skills, cannot be taught through direct instruction
alone.
Some difficulties with direct instruction
Think about the learners you have taught
as a teacher or student teacher. Did some
of themrespond todirect instruction more
positively than others? Why doyou think
this happened?
What are some of the problems that
students might experience when they are
watching a teacher demonstration? How
could the teacher minimise these problems?
122Effective teaching strategies
Use direct instruction if: Do not use direct instruction if:

Learners have limited prior knowledge of

the topic.

The concepts and relationships you want

students to understand are very complex
and difficult to identify.

You want learners to focus on learning

rather than on the procedure of learning.

You want to introduce learners to a broad

range of ideas and examples in a short
time.

Learners lack the skills to learn

independently or collaboratively.
Learners are highl y motivated to work
independently or :ollaboratively.
The content to be learned requires a lot of
time to assimilate.
There are extreme variations in learners'
prior knowledge E nd/or abilities.
You want learners to develop their social
skills while learnirg academic content.
The content requi -es individual
interpretation anc adaptation.
What does research tell us
about direct instruction?
In chapter 1, the Quality Teaching model was described Ls one way to summarise the
research on effective teaching. Our exploration of these ideas :ontinues with a consideration
of the specific teaching techniques that help tomake direct ir.struction an effective teaching
strategy through which toimplement the elements of Quali :y Teaching.
Some key as pects of effective direct ins truction
There are several aspects of direct instruction that consistently receive research support as
important contributors tostudent learning. These variables are highlighted in reviews such
as Brophy and Good (1986), Rosenshine (1995), Borich (20(2) and Hattie (2009). Some of
these indicators of effective direct instruction are outlined below.
Teacher clarity
A clear teacher is one who presents information in ways that make it easy for students
to understand. In the research literature there are two disiinct approaches taken to the
investigation of teacher clarity. The first approach describes clarity in terms of things that
Chapter 5 Using direct i struction as a teaching strate 123
teachers dotobring about learner understanding.This is often referred toas cognitive clarity,
Tobe cognitively clear, you need to:
Tell students what you want themtolearn or be able todo(i.e., tell themwhat outcomes
you want themtoachieve).
Present the lesson content in a logical sequence (sostudents can follow it easily).
Present the lesson content at a suitable pace (not toofast or tooslow).
Give explanations that make sense tostudents.
Emphasise important points (sothat learners can see what is important).
Use appropriate examples to support your explanations (examples fromthe students'
world if possible).
Ask questions tocheck students' understanding.
Re-explain things if students get confused.
Explain the meanings of new words (every subject has jargon that students must master
if they are tomake sense of your explanations).
Give students time to think about new information.
Answer students' questions satisfactorily.
Give an adequate summary of the main points of the lesson.
The second research approach describes clarity in terms of things that teachers say
and how they say them. That research generally focuses on things that make the teacher's
message unclear for example, using vague expressions such as 'a lot', or using incomplete
sentences. Not surprisingly, this aspect of clarity is often referred to as verbal clarity or
vagueness. (Since vagueness and clarity are opposite, this can be a bit confusing.)
Although Land (1987) considers vagueness and clarity tobe aspects of the same general
variable, Cruickshank and Kennedy (1986) suggest that they are quite distinct phenomena.
More recent research (Coulson, 1998, 2006) suggests that verbal clarity, cognitive clarity and
the teacher's communication style are all very closely related, but nonetheless distinct, aspects
of teaching. It seems that clear and unambiguous speech (verbal clarity) is an essential part
of the teacher behaviours, usually referred toas 'cognitive clarity'. It makes sense that if you
are togive students a clear explanation of something you need touse language and speech
patterns that will not confuse them. This is particularly important when the language of
instruction is not the students' first language. If your presentations are unclear it will be very
difficult to engage students in any of the elements of the intellectual quality dimension of
Quality Teaching.
Clarity of presentation has been shown to positively influence student achievement
(Land, 1981; Hines, Cruickshank & Kennedy, 1985; Killen, 1991; Hattie, 2009) and student
satisfaction with their instruction (Hines, 1981). There is some suggestion in the research
literature that the relationship between cognitive clarity and student achievement is stronger
than the relationship between verbal clarity and student achievement (e.g., Hines, 1981;
Killen, 1990).
124Effective teaching strategies
If you want toteach clearly, it is important todothe following:
Plan your instruction well in advance - refer to chapter 3 and to Killen (2005).
Make sure that you have a deep understanding of whatever you want the students to
understand.

Prepare a written plan for every lesson.

Make sure that students understand what outcomes they are supposed to be achieving
and what criteria you will use toassess their learning.
Write carefully worded key questions in your lesson plans and use themto guide
students' thinking.
Make sure that you have clear definitions and explanatior s for all key concepts in your
lesson plan.
Include appropriate examples in your lesson plans.
Be conscious of your vocabulary - define all new jargon and don't use vague
expressions.
Make deliberate connections between lessons and between key points within each
lesson.
Reflect on every lesson.
It is relatively easy for teachers to improve their clarity - they simply have to identify
the practices that are making themunclear and then change flese practices. One very good
way to identify the things that make your teaching unclear is to get feedback fromyour
students. A simple way of doing this is described in the following activity box; for more
detailed feedback fromsenior students you can use the student questionnaire in Appendix
1. These techniques were developed by Killen (1990) and Killen, Meade, Yli-Renko and
Fraser (1996).
act].
tine
Getting feedback on your teaching
If you are not teaching clearly, your students
will not understand - your explanations will
not make sense tothem. One way tofind out
how you could teach more clearly is toask
students twosimple questions at the end of
a lesson:
What did I doin this lesson that helped
you tounderstand?
What did I doin this lesson that con-
fused you or made it difficult for you to
understand?
With young learners you can ask these
questions verbally, perhaps even have a
short class discussion about them. With
older learners you might want tohave them
write answers tothe questions - this is a
good idea because it alsogives you feedback
about the stud Has' ability toexpress their
ideas in writing.
You will probably find that some learners
are quite good at identifying things that help
themtounderstand (such as your drawing
Chapter 5 r Using direct i truction as a teaching strategy, 125
diagrams toillustrate complex ideas) and
the things that confuse them(such as your
using words that they donot understand).
Donot be disappointed if the learners are
reluctant togive you feedback at first; they
have toget accustomed tothe idea that
you value their comments and that you are
simply trying tofind ways tomake it easier
for themtolearn. As you think about the
feedback that the students give you, try to
work out how you could domore of the
things that help students tolearn and fewer
of the things that make it difficult for them
tolearn.
Instructional variety
The main reason for deliberately varying your approaches toteaching was highlighted in
chapter 2 not all students learn the same thing in the same way (Spady, 1994). Because
students perceive and gain knowledge, formideas and think differently, and have different
background knowledge, skills and dispositions, a one size fits all approach to teaching is
unlikely tobe very successful.
The second reason for using a variety of teaching techniques is that we all get bored if
we are doing the same thing for toolong. This is especially true if we are inactive, such as
when we are sitting passively in a classroom. Tocater for the different needs, abilities and
learning preferences of students, and toavoid boring them, you should deliberately vary the
following aspects of your direct instruction:
The way you commence your lessons (e.g., stating the outcomes, asking a question,
posing a problem, showing an object toarouse learners' curiosity).
The way you check students' prior knowledge (e.g., pre-tests, brainstorming, surveys).
The way you give students access to information (e.g., lecture, handout, PowerPoint
presentation, Internet, stories, television).
The way you emphasise main ideas.
The way you ask questions and the type of questions you ask.
The types of feedback and reinforcement that you give learners.
The type of examples you use toillustrate points.
The type of thinking you expect fromstudents.
The challenges that you present tostudents.
The activities in which learners are engaged (e.g., listening, reading, writing, speaking).
The types of instructional materials you use.
Each student will have different expectations about what will or should happen in your
classes. Some students might, for example, expect you towrite detailed notes on the board;
others might expect you togive detailed explanations and put just a summary on the board.
You will also have certain expectations about how students should respond to the way
you teach. For example, you might expect students todevelop their own summaries of the
126Effective teaching strategies
information you present. It is likely that your preferred teac.aing style mirrors your own
preferred learning style. When your expectations or preferences don't match those of the
students, there may be a problem. If some students are constantly required towork outside
their preferred learning style they will quickly lose motivation. You need to be aware of
this and try tofind ways of aligning your expectations with a ose of the students. This will
inevitably mean using a variety of teaching techniques.
If you use appropriate variety in your teaching, this can expand students' views of
what they are learning and how they can learn, challenging themto think in new ways.
Variety can positively influence student achievement (Brophy & Good, 1986), reduce the
amount of student disruptive behaviour (Evertson et al., 1984), increase student attention
(Lysakowski & Walberg, 1981) and maintain students' motivation and their engagement in
learning (Kindsvatter,Wilen & Ishler, 2000) all factors that contribute toa quality learning
environment.
Task orientation
In any formof instruction, both the teacher and the learners should have a clear focus on
the outcomes that students are trying to achieve. The students' task should be to achieve
these outcomes toa high standard in a reasonable time.The teacher's task is toassist learners
tosystematically work towards achieving the outcomes. For this tohappen through direct
instruction, there must be a well-organised and structured learning environment in which
the teacher is concerned with:
Helping students toachieve specific learning outcomes to:learly stated standards.
Providing students with the opportunity to learn by preser ting relevant information.
Asking questions to prompt student thinking and check their understanding.
Encouraging students tothink independently.
Reminding students of what they are trying to achieve.
Encouraging and rewarding students' efforts.
Successful task orientation starts with effective classroommanagement you have to
organise and manage the learning environment sothat it is easy for all students tofocus on
learning. Then you have to ensure that the interactions between you and the students are
focused on intellectual content and achievement of predefined goals -- not simply control.
Once you establish the basic organisational structure that allows you and the students
to be task-oriented, it will be easier for you to monitor t1-. e activities of students and
encourage themto be constructively occupied and working towards planned outcomes.
Task orientation can be considered as the key feature of direct instruction because it places
an emphasis on clear goal setting, active teaching, close monitc ring of student progress and
teacher responsibility for student learning all factors that R Dsenshine (1995) and Spady
(1994) emphasise as important for student achievement. Task orientation is essential for
the engagement, student self-regulation, higher-order thinking and deep understanding
elements of Quality Teaching.
Chapter 5 Using direct ins fiction as a teaching strategy 127
Engagement in learning
Although task orientation by the teacher provides the opportunity for students to learn, it
does not guarantee that the students will be engaged in learning. To be engaged, students
must be actively thinking about, working with, or using the ideas and information that
the teacher has presented they must be trying to understand. The importance of student
engagement in learning is illustrated well in the review of research on teacher behaviour
and student achievement by Brophy and Good (1986). They claimed that overriding all
findings in their review was the fact that academic learning is influenced by the amount of
time students spend engaged in appropriate academic tasks. This engagement is sometimes
referred to as academic learning time (Huitt, 2005). Engagement, and the related factors of
concentration and persistence, were found by Hattie (2009) to have a strong influence on
student learning.
One way tomaximise student engagement is tohave a systemof class rules that allows
students toattend topersonal and procedural matters without the need toseek the teacher's
permission, thus encouraging students to remain engaged in learning for the maximum
possible time. Students should know what to do if, say, they finish an exercise before the
rest of the class.Tomaintain engagement it is important for you tomonitor the seatwork of
students who are working independently, and to communicate to themthat you are aware
of their progress.
Once you have created an environment that will encourage students tobe engaged, you
then have touse instructional strategies that will enhance this engagement.Your basic task is
toengage students in learning activities that challenge themtoconstruct understanding.This
can be achieved through problemsolving, through encouraging students to make choices
and take the initiative in their learning, by challenging students to search for underlying
causes, explain their thinking and justify a position and by making all learning relevant.
There is a simple basic rule: If you want students to engage in learning, you must tell
themwhat you expect themto do and you must make it easy and interesting for themto
doit. When students know what the goals are, and when they see these goals as attainable
and useful, they will want to engage in learning. If the students do not know what they
are supposed tobe learning, or why it is important, or they see the goals as unattainable or
unimportant, you cannot expect themto be enthusiastic and engaged.
Learner success
When students engage in learning tasks, they may experience high success (understand the
content and make only occasional careless errors), moderate success (partially understand
the content and make some substantive errors) or low success (not understand the task
at all). Several studies (e.g., Fisher et al., 1980) have shown that instructional techniques
that allow students toexperience moderate-to-high success rates in class activities produce
greater levels of student achievement in later tests than instruction that results in low student
success rates on class activities.
128Effective teaching strategies
Instruction that produces high success rates can be a powerful motivational force
(Ausubel, 1968) and can lead to high levels of self-esteemand to positive attitudes to
school (Bennett, Desforges, Cockburn & Wilkinson, 1981; Wyne & Stuck, 1982). When
students believe that they can learn (because of earlier learning successes) it allows teachers
tochallenge themwith higher-level tasks one of the key indicators of effective teaching
identified by Hattie (2009).
As well as producing mastery of the lesson content, moderate-to-high success rates on
learning tasks provide opportunities for students toapply their learned knowledge in other
classroomactivities, such as answering questions and solving problems. In this way, success
encourages further engagement in learning.These ideas are consistent with one of the basic
principles of outcomes-based education success leads to further success (Spady, 1994).
As the Quality Teaching model emphasises, it is difficult for :Indents tobe successful if the
criteria for success are not explicit.
When students are successful in their learning it is helpfu_ touse that success as a guide
for further learning.You can dothis by helping learners toreflect on the processes that led
totheir success. If students understand why they were succe ssful in learning, they will be
more likely to be successful in the future, even if they choo ie to use a different approach
tolearning.
Behaviours that s upport the key as pects
of effective teaching
The above summary suggests that to be an effective teacher you need the knowledge and
skill topresent information clearly, using a variety of strateg. es that encourage learners to
remain task-oriented and to engage the students in learning processes in which they can
experience reasonably high levels of success. Fromthis, it she uld be apparent that effective
teaching is the result of patterns of teacher behaviours rather than isolated behaviours, and
that the aspects of effective teaching briefly described above Jonot provide a total picture
of teacher effectiveness.The literature contains evidence of n any other teacher behaviours
that, in various circumstances, have been shown to contripute to learner achievement:
(and hence teacher effectiveness). They are sometimes referred toas enabling behaviours (or
supporting behaviours) because they enable you toincorporate effective teaching practices
intoyour lessons. Some enabling behaviours with strong research support are use of student
ideas, structuring, questioning, probing and enthusiasm.
Using students' ideas
One of the best ways tomaintain students' interest is toinvolve themactively in the lesson
and you can dothis during direct instruction by using the stu :lents' ideas as an integral part
of your lesson. Flanders (1970) suggests that students' ideas can be used in five basic ways:
acknouvledging (repeating students' main statements), nio4cying (rephrasing a student's idea
in the teacher's words), applying (using the student's idea to tike the next step in solving a
Chapter 5 Using direct in truction as a teaching strategy129
problem), comparing (showing similarities and differences in the ideas of several students) and
summarising (using what was said by students torevise key points).
Although there does not appear tobe any strong evidence that using these strategies will
directly enhance student achievement, they do appear to promote learning by increasing
students' engagement in the learning process (Emmer et al., 1984). Brophy (1981) makes
similar claims and Borich (2003) suggests that use of students' ideas can increase the clarity
and variety of a lesson, and encourage student engagement in learning. Your personal
experience probably tells you that learners are encouraged when their ideas are valued.
The most important reason for using students' ideas is that it enables you to build
explicitly on the students' prior knowledge. The process of soliciting ideas fromstudents
can give you insight intothe attitudes, understandings and misconceptions that they bring
tothe learning episode vital information that you need tohelp themlearn.
Structuring
You should not expect learners to be able to make sense of new information unless it is
organised and presented in ways that make it easy tounderstand. Imagine how difficult it
would be tounderstand the information in this book if it were not divided intochapters and
if there were noheadings or subheadings! This organisation is referred toas structuring.
Good lesson structuring starts with a well-planned introduction something that will
grab the learners' attention and spark their curiosity. Four of the common ways of doing
this are:
1. Start the lesson with a question (toprompt learners tothink about a particular issue).
2. Provide a brief overview of where the lesson will take learners (to help themdevelop a
framework for the lesson).
3. Use an advance organiser (tocreate a general context intowhich more specific information
can be integrated).
4. Simply tell the learners what outcomes they will be achieving in the lesson (sothat they
have clear goals for their learning).
The most effective introductions show the learners where the lesson will take them
and how they will get there. The various forms of structuring that you can use at the
beginning of your lessons are sometimes called 'pre-instructional strategies' (because they
come before the main instruction).The chief purposes of pre-instructional strategies are to
get the students interested in the lesson and to help themfocus on the main points of the
lesson. These techniques have been researched and reviewed extensively; refer tosome of
that literature for more detailed guidelines on how touse them(see Ausubel, 1960; Hartley
& Davies, 1976; Kang, 1996; Coffey & Callas, 2003).
Once the learners know where the lesson will take them, show themhow they will get
there. With young children you might have tojust tell themwhat they will be doing. With
older students you might be able touse a flowchart, or simply list the main points that you
will be discussing in the lesson. If this map is written on the board, you can refer to it as
you move fromeach main point to the next, thus helping the learners to understand the
structure and sequence of your lesson and tosee how all the main ideas are related.
130Effective teaching strategies
As your lesson progresses, you can often provide a useful structure by making comments
such as 'There are three main points to consider when selecting a tool for this job. They
are or 'Before you try to calculate ... it is necessary to ...' or 'We will be looking at
the issue of global warming fromtwoperspectives. First wr will consider ...'. Statements
such as these prepare the learners for what is tofollow thi:; is sometimes called giving the
learners a 'mental set'.You can alsouse comments tolink parts of your lesson. For example,
'The main problems that our discussion has identified so Far are ... so now we need to
or 'The next step in this process is ...' or 'So far we have considered ... so now we
need to
consider several other perspectives'. At appropriate Joints in the lesson you should
sunamarise important information. Sothat learners know ei ,cactly what you are doing, you
should make statements such as 'The most important things you have learned in this lesson
are ...' or 'That completes our investigation of this problem. Next lesson we will ...'.
Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is tF at the structure of your lesson
must make sense toyour students. If they lose the plot, they t re unlikely tolearn much from
your lesson. You will make learning easier for your students if you highlight main points,
proceed in small steps at an appropriate pace and give themopportunities to check that
they understand what you are talking about.
In a more general consideration of structuring that g Des beyond individual lessons,
Rosenshine and Stevens (1986) identified six instructional activities that they claimed a)
be essential towell-structured teaching. They were regular reviews of past learning, well-
organised presentation of each lesson, guided practice for stuients on new tasks, feedback
students on their learning, independent practice for students once basics have been mastered
and systematic weekly reviews of course content. All of these teacher activities place a
clear focus on what we want students to learn and that it one of the basic principles of
outcomes-based education.
Without appropriate structuring, effective teaching is difficult because it is hard for
the teacher to remain task-oriented and because students a :e unlikely to be appropriately
engaged in learning. In an unstructured lesson there may he variety, but it probably will
not be purposeful. Consequently, it is unlikely that the lesson will be clearly presented, or
that intended learning will occur (Kindsvatter,Wilen & Ishle r, 2000). Careful structuring of
each lesson is essential if you want students toengage in h4;her-order thinking, and if you
want todeliberately guide themtodeep levels of understanding.
Questioning
Doenau (1987) claims that classroomstudies of questioning were taking place as early as
1912. Early research focused primarily on describing when or how teachers asked questions.
Around 1970 the research into questioning started to place more emphasis on the types of
questions that teachers asked. The major reviews in this area (Gall, 1970, 1984; Rosenshine,
1971; Dunkin & Biddle, 1974; Redfield & Rousseau, 1981; Brophy & Good, 1986; Cazden
& Mehan, 1989) indicate that the aspects of questioning that have been investigated most
Chapter 5: Using direct struction as a teaching strate
frequently are the cognitive levels of questions, the difficulty levels of questions and teachers'
patterns of questioning.The research findings have been quite mixed. However, questioning
is still regarded as an important part of teaching because (a) it stimulates student thinking and
learning and (b) it provides the teacher with valuable information about student learning.
Cotton's (1988) summary of research on questioning suggested that teachers could use
questions for the following purposes, all of which are relevant todirect instruction:
Todevelop interest and motivate students tobecome actively involved.
Toevaluate students' preparation and check on homework or seatwork.
To develop critical thinking skills and inquiring attitudes.
To review and summarise previous lessons.
Tonurture insights by exposing new relationships.
Toassess achievement of instructional goals and objectives.
To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own.
Questioning forms an integral part of most strategies for effective teaching. It is an
important component of teacher clarity because it is a means by which teachers can gain
feedback on learner understanding. Questioning can be used to keep the students on task
and toencourage themtoengage in meaningful learning. Questioning can be a vehicle for
introducing variety intolessons and a means of enabling even slow learners toexperience
some success in their learning (Martin, 1979). However, as Sanders (1966) points out,
questioning has little effect on student learning unless it requires students touse ideas rather
than just remember them.
Although there is some research support for the idea that questions can and should be
used to stimulate learners to think at the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy (Anderson
& Krathwohl, 2001), Cotton (1988) cautions that the research is not conclusive. Cotton's
summary of this research suggests that:
Higher-order questions are not categorically better than lower-order questions in
eliciting higher-level responses or in promoting learning gains.
Lower cognitive questions are more effective than higher-level questions with young
(primary level) children, particularly the disadvantaged.
In most classes above the primary grades, a combination of higher and lower cognitive
questions is superior toexclusive use of one or the other.
Lower cognitive questions are more effective when the teacher's purpose is to impart
factual knowledge and assist students tocommit this knowledge tomemory.
In settings where a high incidence of lower-level questions is appropriate, greater
frequency of questions is positively related tostudent achievement.
Increasing the use of higher cognitive questions (toconsiderably above the 20 per cent
incidence noted in most classes) produces superior learning gains for secondary students.
For older students, increases in the use of higher cognitive questions (to 50 per cent or
more) are positively related toincreases in:
On-task behaviour.
Length of student responses.
132Effective teaching strategies
Enthusiasm
An enthusiastic teacher conveys to students a feeling of involvement, excitement and
interest.This message is transmitted in a variety of ways, including facial expression, gestures,
body movements, eye movements and vocal characteristics. Many writers (e.g., Borich,
2003) consider enthusiasmtobe part of a larger group of behaviours referred toas 'teacher
affect' (behaviours that derive fromattitudes, values and emotions), but enthusiasmis the
particular affective teacher behaviour that appears tohave the greatest research support (see
Rosenshine, 1970; Bettencourt, Gillett, Gall & Hull, 1983; Brigham, Scruggs & Mastropieti,
1992). Faull (2009) claims that enthusiasmis one of the dispositions that characterises
exceptional teachers.
While it seems logical that enthusiastic teachers will motivate their learners more than
unenthusiastic teachers, it is difficult to obtain research evidence that teacher enthusiasm
makes any direct difference to learner achievement. One reason is that enthusiasmmay
be displayed in many different, often quite subtle, ways -- making it difficult to measure.
However, there is evidence that when learners think a teacher is enthusiastic this influences
their perceptions of other teacher behaviours (such as clarity) and this in turn influences
their learning (Killen, 1991). There is alsosome evidence that the enthusiasmof teachers is
influenced by the enthusiasmof their students (Stenlund, 1995) which creates a chicken-
and-egg situation.
Enthusiastic teachers are usually seen by students as 'setter communicators (Coulson,
2006) and they are more successful than unenthusiastic teachers at engaging students in
learning. For this reason, there seems little doubt that enthusiasmis an important, if not
essential, aspect of effective teaching. If you are going to be enthusiastic about the things
that you teach you must first be clear about what you want learners tolearn and about why
those things are important.You must also have a genuine interest in your subject and in
helping students tounderstand your subject. If you ever -:ell students 'This topic is boring
and difficult but you have tolearn it for the exam' you should not expect students tobe any
more enthusiastic about it than you are.
Summary
There is considerable research support for using student ideas, structuring, questioning and
probing as important support mechanisms for the teache: behaviours that are more direct
indicators of teacher effectiveness. These support behaviours are likely to be particularly
helpful when used by an enthusiastic and well-organised -:eacher.
There are many other teacher behaviours that have some research support as elements of
effective teaching (e.g., particular classroommanagement strategies, praise of students, use
of small group activities and so on). These aspects of teaching will not be dealt with here,
but a good starting point for a more detailed coverage of this literature is Wittrock (1086)
and Hattie (2009).
134Ef ctive teaching strategies
Planning and implementing
direct instruction
Chapter 3 outlined the main choices you have to make when planning; here those ideas
will be expanded as we consider some of the specific things you need todowhen planning
touse direct instruction.
Recall that at the start of this chapter I emphasised that when using direct instruction the
things you want students tolearn are made very explicit. The students are not left toexplore
ideas on their own in order to learn something they are guided by the teacher to learn
something specific. As a consequence, direct instruction lessons require very careful planning
and preparation.The following planning steps are particularly important for direct instruction.
Writing les s on outcomes
As we saw in Chapter 3, all planning should start with a clear statement about the outcomes
that you want students to achieve, and for each lesson these outcomes should be derived
directly fromthe longer-termsyllabus outcomes. Often when planning a lesson in which
you will use direct instruction there is a temptation tothink about outcomes as something
you will achieve (e.g., I will explain the principles of effective communication.) Avoid this
mistake. Always think of the outcomes in terms of what students will be able to do as a
result of your direct instruction (e.g., Students will be able touse the principles of effective
communication toreport the results of their science investigation).
Be realistic about the lesson outcomes.There is a finite limit towhat students can learn
in each lesson so the outcomes should be specific enough to be attainable in that lesson.
The things that students learn in each lesson are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that you will
help themto construct over time. Therefore, you need to deliberately build on their prior
knowledge and deliberately lay the foundations for their further learning.You have tohelp
the students see how the outcomes of each lesson are linked.
Selecting les s on content
You should think of the content of the lesson as a vehicle tohelp students achieve the lesson
outcomes. The content must be directly related to the outcomes and be at an appropriate
cognitive level. In chapter 1 you saw the importance of focusing your lessons on significant
knowledge rather than trivial details and this should be the prime determinant of the
content you use.
When you are selecting content you should always try to use examples that will make
it easy for students tounderstand the concepts and principles you present tothem. Donot
assume that students will always understand why you are using particular examples. Take
the time to explain the purpose of each example before, or immediately after, you give it
(e.g., 'This example will help you tosee why ...' or 'This example is slightly different from
Chapter 5 Using direct instruction as a teaching strategy
135
the previous one because I want you to see what happen when we change ...'). Make sure
that you think carefully about your examples when plan zing your lessons; don't wait until
you get intothe classroom.
Organising the lesson content
One of the main reasons for using direct instruction is that it allows you to organise the
lesson content and present it tostudents in a manner and ;equence that will make it easy for
themto understand. Therefore, a lot of your planning will involve structuring, organising
and sequencing the content so that students are systematically exposed to new ideas and
encouraged to think about themin particular ways.
Students assimilate material more easily when they a n see a clear structure and logical
sequence in it that is, when they can see how the ideas are linked and related and why you
are presenting the ideas tothemin a particular sequence.The structure and sequence of your
lesson will, of course, be determined primarily by the nature of the subject matter, but this
does not mean there is only one way (or necessarily a best way) of presenting some specific
content.You will have to consider the students' prior knowledge, their learning styles, the
resources you have available and soon. However, there ar.. some general principles thai: you
should try tofollow:
Make sure students understand the purpose of each lesson and its general scope. If they
have little idea of what they will be learning, or why they are learning it, your carefully
planned lesson structure and sequence may be lost on them.
Try tostart by explaining ideas that are relatively easy tounderstand and progress tothe
more difficult ideas.
Help the students to make connections between what they already know and what you
want themto learn, and between the various parts of the new information that you
present.
Break the material into meaningful chunks sections that are small enough to be
assimilated easily and then pulled together tomake a cohesive whole.
Emphasise the things that are important and help students tosee the logical connections
between these important ideas.
Use analogies and examples tohelp the students understand.
Give students time to think about what they are learning and encourage themto ask
questions.
Provide summaries at appropriate points in your lessen.
Whenever possible, use visual means to support your presentation for example, a
picture, chart, diagramor model.
Organise your material in a way that will make seise to your students (not just to
you). Take the time to explain to students why you have sequenced the material in a
particular way.
Organise your lesson so that it challenges students tc think beyond their current level
of understanding.
136

ective teaching strategies

You will make learning easier for your students if you organise the lesson content in a
way that makes it easy toremember. This idea is the basis of a learning theory called schema
theory a schema being an organisational framework for information. Schemata (the plural
of schema) are complex knowledge structures that learners develop through experience,
which, in turn, become the basis of a student's prior knowledge in new learning situations.
When a learner encounters some new information it is processed according to how it
matches the learner's schemata if it seems to fit, it is accepted and understood. If the
new information appears not tofit the learner's schemata, several things might happen: the
learner may be confused and reject the new information, or the learner might be confused
but accept the new information without much thought or the learner may deliberately try
torevise existing schemata toaccommodate the new information. It is this later outcome
that you should try toencourage thus helping students todeliberately build on their prior
knowledge and extend their understanding.
In schema theory, the knowledge that students build is meaning-driven; it is not simply
the accumulation of isolated pieces of information. If, for example, a photography teacher
is explaining how to manually set the exposure controls on a camera, students need to
develop a schema of the basic principles of how the image is formed and recorded before
the individual steps in adjusting the aperture and shutter speed will make sense. This fits
well with the suggestion in chapter 1 that teachers should help students develop deep
understanding rather than just memorise details. As you can see fromthis example, many
schemata will be context-specific.
Because schemata are important for interpreting and decoding information, it is crucial
to present students with information in ways that make it easy for themto develop and
use schemata. Direct instruction can be a very effective technique for helping students to
develop schemata and toactivate these reference frameworks as the basis for developing
new understanding.
Preparing lesson notes
In chapter 3 I suggested a format for your lesson plans that contained a 'Lesson content'
section. In your early years of teaching, you will probably need to prepare detailed notes
to help you organise this content, decide on how much detail you will need to present to
students and develop suitable examples.You might find the following basic formats useful.
Verbatim notes
This is a word-by-word script of the content you want topresent. Writing lesson notes with
this amount of detail has the attraction (particularly for new teachers) that it reassures you
that you have thought about everything you need tosay and how you will say it. It reduces
the number of things that you need tothink about during the lesson presentation and may
Chapter 5 * Using direct instruction as a teaching strategy
13
help you toovercome some of your nervousness. However, there are some problems with
this approach, such as:
If you simply read your notes, the presentation will at-pear very formal and uninsp-rin9.,
tothe students.
If you read your notes, you may not use appropriate in :onations, pauses, etc., and this
can
make your presentation sound very false.
Sentences that read very well donot necessarily sound mural, particularly long, complex
sentences.
It is easy to lose your place if something distracts you and this can make you more
nervous than if you had nonotes at all!
This type of presentation discourages students frcmasking questions or making
comments because it gives students the impression tha: all you want todois get through
the lesson.
It can give students the impression that you lack confidence and, perhaps, knowledge.
It can give students the impression that all they need to do is listen, not think.
For the above reasons, I strongly caution against preparing lessons as verbatimnotes.
Outline notes
It is very useful to prepare a summary of the information on which you will base your
presentation, expressed in point formrather than complete sentences. As you become riore
experienced and confident you should start to feel more comfortable using this approach.
The main advantage of this formof notes is that it forces you to construct sentences on
the run so your presentation becomes less formal and appears to be based more soundly
on your own knowledge and experience. It also helps to ensure that your delivery (voice)
matches your message. If you work froma summary, it is much easier tokeep track of your
progress and it allows you to easily omit or embellish points to suit the time remaining in
the lesson.Very importantly, if you use a summary rather than verbatimnotes you will leave
more freedomtomove about the classroom.
Sometimes you may find it useful tobase your summary notes around diagrams, charts.
pictures, mind maps or other pictorial representations, and you might find it useful to put
these on overhead transparencies or build theminto a PcwerPoint presentation. However.
summary notes have some disadvantages:
If you lack confidence, you may become nervous and forget what you wanted tc s ay
about each point.
If your summary is too brief, you may forget to discuss the ways in which the main
points are connected or interrelated.
38Eff .ctive teaching strategies
Helping s tudents to mas ter the language
of your s ubject
Each subject or discipline has its own special language to describe the concepts and
relationships that are unique tothat area of study. For example, words such as 'integration'
and 'equality' have quite different meanings in Mathematics and in Social Science. You
cannot avoid the fact that every subject has its jargon, but you cannot expect learners to
understand the ideas you are presenting if the things you say confuse them. Therefore, you
must help the learners tomaster the language of your subject at the same time as they strive
tounderstand its content. It might seemlike stating the obvious, but unless learners master
the language of your subject they will not be able tounderstand it.
A simple first step is to explain to students that they will be learning some new words
during the lesson, and tell themwhy it is necessary to understand and use these words.
When you do have to introduce new terminology make sure that you write it on the
board or show it on the overhead projector, sothat the students will see the correct spelling
of the word(s). This is particularly important when the language of instruction is not the
students' first language. If you donot dothis, students may think that they know what word
you are using, but actually confuse it with some other word.You might then have students
saying things such as 'Water can be purified by passing it through a filter and then forcing
it through an air rater' (rather than an aerator).
Don't expect students to understand words just because you use themfrequently. And
do not assume that because students use words, they know what they mean. People often
use words when they have only a vague idea of what they mean (e.g., criterion, paradigm),
or use incorrect words (e.g., alternate rather than alternative). Both of these practices can
interfere with students' understanding.
You will help students to understand your subject if you take the time to explain why
technical terms are necessary, and why particular words are used todescribe the concepts
you are presenting. Often, it will help to tell students the derivation of the term. For
example, if you explain tostudents that the prefix `ortho' means straight, rectangular, right
or correct, it will help themto see why the termorthogonal is used to describe a drawing
containing mainly right angles. It will also help themto understand why an orthodontist
has that title, and it might even make themcurious enough to investigate the meanings of
other words they come across in their studies.
There are four particular traps to avoid when you are attempting to explain new
terminology to students. The first trap is to confuse students by using a definition that
contains even more terms that they donot understand.The second is touse the same words
in the definition as the concept you are trying to define. Both these traps are illustrated in
the following definition of a polar robotic arm: 'A polar robotic armuses polar coordinates
to specify positions in terms of rotation at the base combined with an elevation angle and
linear extension of the arm'. (The definition will not make sense to anyone who does not
already know what a polar robotic armis.) A third trap is to provide a non-definition a
Chapter 5 Using direct instruction as a teaching strategy139
long explanation that never really defines the term. Man'T authors fall into this trap when
they try todefine the term'curriculum'. (Look at any text )ook on curriculumand see how
clearly the termis defined.) A fourth trap is to use word; that have an everyday meaning
and a meaning specific to the subject, without explaining the special meaning. There are
many examples of this in the computing field (e.g., boot, bus, monitor).
. e Jargon
At the start of your next lesson, ask your
students tokeep a record of all the words
that you use in that lesson that they donot
understand. Collect these lists at the end
of the lesson and see what surprises they
hold. How could you make this exercise
an ongoing part of your students' learning
strategies?
Students are often reluctant toadmit
that they donot understand some of the
words that they hear during a lesson.
How can yen encourage your students to
overcome this reluctance?
Helping students to take notes
If you present interesting and stimulating lessons, it is easy for you (and hopefully your
students) to get so involved in the excitement of the lesson that no time is allowed for
the students to take any notes. This can be a problembecause it is difficult for students
to remember details of things they have merely listenec to or discussed. Students need
some record of what they were learning so that they can revise it, follow up ideas in their
own time and prepare for future lessons. Merely copying; notes fromthe board does not
necessarily help students tolearn.
Don't assume that your students will have appropriate note taking skills. Make it easy
by emphasising main points, making the structure of your lesson clear and by giving them
time to record notes. Simple statements such as 'There arc three important reasons for ..
alert students to the fact that you are making a point th it is worth recording. But don't
gooverboard; dictating notes is rarely a productive use of time. Chapter 13 outlines some
techniques you can use toincrease the accuracy and usefAlness of students' notes. Make a
habit of reading some of the notes that your students make you might be surprised at
what they think you said.
140Eff ctive teaching strategies
Note taking
Are you a good note taker? Why?
Make a list of ways in which you can
make it easy for your students totake
adequate notes in your lessons. Discuss your
list with a colleague.
Choose a university lecture in which you
believe you took good notes and a lecture
where you found it difficult totake notes.
Identify what the lecturer(s) did that made
your note taking task easy or difficult.
Checking learner understanding
During any instruction, it is extremely important that you know whether or not students
are learning (Hattie, 2009). Sometimes, you might be able to judge this informally from
the looks on their faces, the questions they ask and the answers they give toyour questions.
However, there are advantages in checking their understanding in a more formal way by
giving the learners a short test during, or at the end of, your lesson.This can be an integral
part of the learning process, provided that the questions are carefully chosen toaddress the
key concepts in the lesson.You should explain tolearners that the tests are designed tohelp
themlearn, not just totest what they have learned.
Bringing it all together
If you follow the guidelines on direct instruction in this chapter your lessons will have the
following basic structure.
An introduction/overview in which you:
Help students toreview what they have already learned toprepare themfor the current
lesson.
Tell students what they will learn in the current lesson and why they will be learning it.
Tell students how their learning will be applied and assessed.
A presentation/learning phase in which you:
Give students clear explanations of the things you want themtolearn.
Provide opportunities for students to think about and apply the things
learning.
Give students opportunities for guided practice.
Monitor students' learning and gain feedback on their understanding.
they are
Chapter 5 Using direct instruction as a teaching strategy 141
Encourage students to self-evaluate their learning an:I ask questions to improve their
understanding.
Provide feedback and encouragement tostudents.
A structured conclusion in which you:
Make a formative evaluation of what students learned in the lesson.
Briefly explain what will happen in the next stage of students' learning.
Give students learning tasks tobe completed before the next lesson.
It might be difficult to do all these things in every lesson, but the above points are
a useful guide for planning your instruction. You should also keep the following points
in mind:
Always communicate clearly and avoid using unnecessary or repetitive words, such as
`OK', 'right' and 'you know'.
Vary your speech rate, volume and pitch tomatch the message you are delivering and to
help maintain students' interest.
Don't go too fast. Students need time to think; even good note takers cannot write at
more than about 20 per cent of the rate at which you can speak.
Always direct your presentation at the students, not at the board, the overhead screen or
the floor.
Don't try to be a comedian.
Make eye contact with as many students as possible.
Use appropriate gestures and physical movements, bui donot wander aimlessly around
the room.
Avoid distracting mannerisms, such as scratching your head or pulling your ear.
Try to minimise the barriers between you and the students.
1Determinin whether your
direct instruction was effective
If you want to evaluate your teaching it is necessary to gather some evidence upon which
to base your value judgements. Some of this evidence will come fromthe products that
students produce: the outcomes they can demonstrate, their scores on quizzes, their answers
to questions in class and so on. Other evidence will be less tangible, since it will relate to
the learning process rather than to the products of that learning such as engagement in
learning and enjoyment of learning.You have to gather as much evidence as possible in
order to decide whether you should be satisfied with the results of your instruction, and
to decide what changes you will make next time you teLch that class or use that teaching
strategy.
ective teaching strategies
Whatever teaching strategy you use, your first evaluation question should be 'Did the
students achieve the outcomes I wanted themto achieve?' If you do not start with a very
clear idea of what learning outcomes you wanted students to achieve, you will have very
little chance of determining how well you taught or how much your students learned.
As a consequence, you will find it difficult to improve your teaching or to make it easier
for students tolearn. When you use direct instruction as your main teaching strategy, you
should ask questions such as the following.
Thinking about what you did:
Did I tell the students what I expected themto learn and how they would be able to
use their new knowledge?
Did I tell students the criteria I would use to judge the quality of their learning?
What did I do to help the students relate their new knowledge to things that they
already understood?
Did I do everything in this lesson that I had planned to do? If not, why not?
Did anything (positive or negative) happen in this lesson that I had not expected?
Did I use any terminology that the students did not understand? How can I be sure that
they understood all the words I assumed they understood?
How much time did I spend talking and how much time did students spend thinking?
Did my organisation and sequencing of the content work effectively to help students
learn?
What opportunities did I give the students toask questions?
How often did I check to see that the students understood the lesson content?
Was I confident and enthusiastic in my presentation?
What did I dotohelp students see the relevance of the lesson?
What happened in this lesson to confirmor contradict my beliefs about teaching and
learning?
What things would I change if I had toteach this lesson again tomorrow?
Thinking about the students:
What evidence do I have that the students achieved the outcomes?
Did all students achieve these outcomes, or only some students? Why?
Did the students react to the lesson in the way that I anticipated that they would?
Did the lesson contain an appropriate amount of information, and was that information
organised in a sequence that seemed logical tothe students?
Were the students engaging with important ideas and trying to develop deep
understanding?
What evidence doI have that the students enjoyed this lesson?
At the end of the lesson, were students curious and enthusiastic about learning more?
In what ways did this lesson influence the beliefs and values of my students? How can
I justify this outcome?
Chapter 5 Using direct instruction as a teaching strategy 143
Was direct instruction the best choice for this lesson, Dr would students have learned
more if I had used a different strategy?
Evaluating your lessons involves reflecting on what you did as well as on what your
students did and what they achieved. Remember, whatever happens in your classroom
is your responsibility, and if you don't take the time to ink about your teaching it will
probably never improve. On occasions, you will want toobtain formal feedback fromyour
students to help you evaluate your teaching. A formthat you can use for that purpose is
given in Appendix 1; it has been adapted fromthe teac ter clarity research reported in
Killen (1990).
* Review and reflect
on your learning
Develop answers to each of these questions and discuss your answers with another learne- or
with an experienced teacher.
1. To what extent is direct instruction 8. How might you need to vary the
consistent with the model of outcomes- structure of your lessons if you are
based education proposed by Spady teaching high- or low-ability students%
(1994, 1998) and described in chapter 2 9. What are the main differences you would
of this book? How does direct instruction expect to see in a direct instruction lesson
help you to apply the principles of OBE? for very young children and for senior
2. What are the main steps in planning a high school students?
direct instruction lesson? 10. Arrange to observe an experienced
3. Which aspects of the Quality Teaching teacher who is using direct instruction.
model described in chapter 1 are Compare what they do with the
consistent with the principles of direct suggestions in this chapter. After the
instruction? lesson, c iscuss your observations with the
4. Why do Kirschner, Swelter and Clark teacher rvith a view to understanding
(2006) argue that direct instruction is why they teach the way they do.
strongly supported by current theories of 11. Being able to give students clear, concise
memory and cognition? explana:ions is an important part of
5. What is the difference between teacher :larity. Develop a template that
jargon and metalanguage? Why is this you can use as a guide to preparing
distinction important when you are using explana :ions in your specialist teaching
direct instruction? area. Hcw will your explanations differ
6. Describe three different ways of helping if they are focused on 'what', 'why' or
students to focus on the most important 'how'?
ideas in a topic. 12. From your specialist teaching area, select
7. What are the main things to consider a topic that is frequently difficult for
when giving students feedback on their student!. to understand. Plan a lesson in
learning? which you could teach this topic using
144Eff -ctive teaching strategies
direct instruction. Ask an experienced
teacher to review your lesson plan and
help you to improve it.
13.
Some critics argue that direct instruction
is not suitable for helping students
achieve the higher level outcomes
described by Bloom's taxonomy. Develop
arguments for and against this point of
view.
14.
Develop an argument to support
(or refute) the point of view that
direct instruction is compatible with
constructivist theories of learning.
15.
If you are a Secondary teacher education
student. Prepare two lesson plans
that would enable you to use direct
instruction with a Year 8 class and a Year
12 class in your specialist teaching area.
What important differences are there
between these two lesson plans?
16. If you are a Primary teacher education
student, prepare two lesson plans
that would enable you to use direct
instruction with a Year 4 class, with
one lesson focused on literacy and the
other lesson focused on numeracy. What
important differences are there between
these two lesson plans?
17. If you are an Early Childhood education
student, prepare two lesson plans
that would enable you to use direct
instruction with a Kindergarten
class. How will these lessons lay the
foundations for the children's later
learning?
Weblinks
For information on the structured
approach to direct instruction advocated
by Englemann, refer to www.nifdi.org/.
Hattie (2009) synthesises over 800
meta-analyses of factors influencing
achievement of school-aged students. A
summary of Hattie's findings is available
at www.raufkaalltraist.org.nz/Nuthall.ppt.
A range of useful resources and
suggestions for the use of direct
instruction (particularly in Primary
schools) is available in the Teacher
Resource section of http://k6educa.toxs.
about.com/.
o The Western Australian Department of
Education and Training website at wviw.
detwa.edu.au/educationicurrieulura/
CI P2/Espiesp_TeacherStrat.asp
discusses a range of teaching strategies
(including direct instruction) that are
useful forteachers working with students
with disabilities.
ChapterI Using (Urea instruction as a teaching strategy 145