Improving Student Achievement with Direct Instruction

1
Improving Student Achievement with Direct
Instruction
Cathy L. Watkins, Ph.D., BCBA California State
University, Stanislaus cwatkins_at_csustan.edu
Direct Instruction
2
The Problem
3
Reading Trajectories of Low and Middle Readers
.88 correlation between students reading levels
at the end of grade one the end of grade 4
(Juel, 1988)
4
Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading
Growth
16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5
High Oral Language in Kindergarten
5.2 years difference
Reading Age Level
Low Oral Language in Kindergarten
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Chronological Age
From Torgesen, J. (2004) NASP Workshop (based
on Hirsch, 1996)
5
Catching up is Hard to do

• even a normal learning rate wont catch you up
• must make more than one year growth per year in
  school
• alter the trajectory

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
K 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Year in school
6
Teaching More in Less Time (Acceleration)

• Plan encompasses all teachers in all grades.
• Program efficiently teaches essential content.
• Groups organized homogeneously.
• Students appropriately placed in the
  instructional sequence.
• Schedules provide adequate daily practice.
• Schedule provides sufficient time for all
  instructional groups and is coordinated from one
  classroom to another
• Assumes that students are taught to mastery.
• Requires a system for motivating students.

7
Direct Instruction

• has emerged as one of the most successful models
  for accomplishing the goal of closing the
  achievement gap.
• Direct Instruction programs are scientifically
  based but, more importantly, are scientifically
  validated.

8
Sally ShaywitzOvercoming Dyslexia (p. 263)
9

• There are also highly effective programs
  available for children who are olderand are
  still struggling to read.There is not a minute
  to waste. Instruction must be highly efficient
  and effective..Among the best programs is the
  REACH SystemREACH, based on the same Direct
  Instruction approach mentioned earlier,
  represents a combination of three programs
  Corrective Reading, Reasoning and Writing, and
  Spelling Through Morphographs that in a
  cohesive way address all the reading-related
  needs of the struggling students.

Sally ShaywitzOvercoming Dyslexia (pp. 265-266)
10
Project Follow Through - Comparison of Models
After Stebbins et.al., 1977
11
Index of Significant Outcomes
After Stebbins, et. al., 1977
12
Wide Range Achievement Test - Reading
Gersten, et. al. (1984)
13
Gersten, et. al. (1984)
14
American Federation of Teachers (1999)

• Identified Direct Instruction one of six
  promising programs for raising student
  achievement, especially in low-performing
  schools. The program showed evidence of
• High Standards
• Effectiveness
• Replicability
• Support Structures

15
American Institutes for Research (1999)

• Direct Instruction was identified as one of three
  programs (out of 24) to show strong evidence of
  positive outcomes on student achievement.

16
Center for Research on the Education of Students
Placed at Risk (2002)

• Direct Instruction is one of three models (out of
  29) with strongest evidence for effectiveness.
• Direct Instruction had statistically significant
  and positive achievement effects based on
  evidence from studies using comparison groups or
  from third-party comparison designs. (p. 29)

17
Watkins, Howard, Stanislaw, 2001
18
Watkins, Howard, Stanislaw, 2001
19
Watkins, Howard, Stanislaw, 2001
20
Rio Altura Elementary School - Academic
Performance Index
21
(No Transcript)
22
Capistrano Elementary School
23
Capistrano Elementary School
24
What is Direct Instruction?

• An explicit, scientifically-validated model of
  effective instruction.
• A system of teaching that attempts to control all
  the variables that make a difference in the
  performance of children.
• Can be distinguished from other models of
  explicit instruction by its focus on curriculum
  design and effective instructional delivery.
• Commercial DI programs are typically published by
  Science Research Associates(SRA)

25
Direct Instruction

• direct vs. indirect instruction
• direct instruction as a set of teacher behaviors
• Direct Instruction as an integrated system
• of curriculum and instruction.

26
Three Main Components of Direct Instruction
Programs

• Program Design
• Instructional Organization
• Teaching Techniques

27
General Case Instruction
Set of all instances

• The general case has been taught when, after
  instruction on some tasks in a particular class,
  any task in that class can be performed
  correctly.
• Becker and Engelmann, 1978

E
E
N
E
E
E
E
N
E
E
E

E
E
E
E
E
E
N
Teaching Set
28
General Case Instruction

• 10 whole words
• vs.
• 10 sounds and 720 three-sound words
• blending skill 4,320 four-sound
  words
• 21,600 five-sound words
• Becker, 1971 (An Empirical Basis for Change in
  Education)

29
Sequencing Skills

• Preskills of strategy taught before strategy
• Instances consistent with strategy taught before
  exceptions
• High utility skills introduced first
• Easy skills taught before more difficult
• Strategies and information likely to be confused
  separated in sequence

30
Instructional Organization

• Placement and Grouping
• Instructional Time
• Continuous Assessment

31
Placement

• Each child receives instruction appropriate to
  his/her needs
• Students have the necessary prerequisite skills
• Placement tests designed to measure students
  performance on key skills important for them to
  be successful in the program
• Results indicate appropriate beginning program,
  level, and lesson

32
Grouping

• Group size and composition are adjusted to
  accommodate and reflect student progress and
  lesson objectives.
• Grouping is flexible and dynamic
• Group size is differentiated according to the
  needs of students
• Students with the greatest needs are taught in
  the smallest groups.
• Cross-class or cross-grade grouping may be used
  when appropriate to maximize opportunity to
  tailor instruction to students performance level.

33
Instructional Time

ALLOCATED TIME time scheduled for instruction
ENGAGED TIME (time on task) time during which
instruction is actually delivered
ACADEMIC LEARNING TIME (ALT) time actively
engaged in academic tasks that can be performed
at a high success rate
34
Frustration Self-Esteem Model
negative peer influence
deficient practices
problem behavior
reduced self-esteem
unsuccessful school outcomes
35
Continuous Assessment

• All Direct Instruction programs include various
  ongoing in-program assessments
• Provide feedback on teaching effectiveness
• Allow evaluation of skill development
• Permit timely adjustments

36
Continuous Assessment

• All Direct Instruction programs include various
  ongoing in-program assessments
• Provide feedback on teaching effectiveness
• Allow evaluation of skill development
• Permit timely adjustments

37
The Power of Coaching
38
Importance of Supervision
DI
Direct Instruction
Something Like It
SLI
Nothing Like It!
NLI
39
The Price of Inconsistency
40
Teaching Techniques

• Set up
• Format
• Pacing
• Signals
• Corrections
• Motivation
• Mastery

41
Set - up

• Expectations (rules and routines)
• Materials
• Seating
• Assign seating
• Lower performers closest to teacher
• All children can see
• Teacher can see all children in the group
• Teacher can see independent workers

42
Formats
43
Scripted Presentation

• Advantages of scripts
• Present examples quickly
• Standardized wording
• Scripts ensure precision
• Provide efficient corrections
• Time per activity controlled
• Increased academic learning time

44
Grouping

• Group size and composition are adjusted to
  accommodate and reflect student progress and
  lesson objectives.
• Grouping is flexible and dynamic
• Group size is differentiated according to the
  needs of students
• Students with the greatest needs are taught in
  the smallest groups.
• Cross-class or cross-grade grouping may be used
  when appropriate to maximize opportunity to
  tailor instruction to students performance level.

45
Pacing

• The best way to ensure a brisk pace is to be
  prepared!
• Advantages of quick pacing
• Increases content covered (more opportunities to
  respond)
• Decreases behavior problems
• Makes many tasks easier

46
Signals

• Used to coordinate unison group responses
• An evaluation tool
• and a blurt controller!
• May be visual or auditory
• Consistently timed

47
Corrections

• Immediate
• Direct
• General Correction
• Model
• (Lead)
• Test
• Retest
• Delayed test

48
Motivation

• Tell children what the goal is
• Tell children why you are praising them
• Dont spend a great deal of time
• Challenge the children
• Use tangible reinforces if necessary
• Reinforce only when children perform according to
  acceptable standards.

49
Mastery

• At least 70 correct on information being
  introduced for the first time
• At least 90 mastery of skills taught earlier in
  the program
• Virtually 100 firm on all tasks and activities
  at the end of the lesson
• Error rates low enough to ensure teacher has
  sufficient time to complete a lesson
• Engelmann, S., 1999

50

• Our job is to teach the kids we have, not the
  kids we used to have, not the kids we wish we
  had, not the kids who exist only in our dreams.