A particular subset, denoted by capitalization as Direct Instruction, refers to the approach developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley C. Becker that was first implemented in the 1960s.
DI includes tutorials, participatory laboratory classes, discussions, recitation, seminars, workshops, observation, active learning, practicum, or internships.
[2] In some special education programs, direct instruction is used in resource rooms when teachers assist with homework completion and academic remediation.
Engelmann and Becker sought to identify teaching methods that would accelerate the progress of historically disadvantaged elementary school students.
When further developing DI, they applied the same principles to create a formal instructional program that included language, reading, and math.
In the late 1960s, Project Follow Through included DI as one of the programs to compare the outcomes of over 20 different educational interventions in high-poverty communities.
[7] The approach has also been examined as a model to assist students in a resource room with homework completion, bolster executive functioning skills, and improve teacher efficiency.
The program was designed by Johns Hopkins University professor Robert Slavin in the mid-1980s for failing schools in Baltimore, Maryland.
For instance, Jonathan Kozol criticized the program in his book, The Shame of the Nation, for being excessively dogmatic, utilitarian, and authoritarian.
The Baltimore Curriculum Project has many schools with Free and Reduced Lunch Rates above 75% serving student populations that are more than 90% African American.
[15] The findings from Project Follow Through, conducted in a variety of selected communities throughout the United States, suggest that Direct Instruction is the most effective model for teaching academic skills and for affective outcomes (e.g. self-esteem) of children.
Recent large-scale studies (1997–2003), such as the Baltimore Curriculum Project, show that it is possible to help schools that are in the lowest twenty percentile with respect to academic achievement steadily improve until they are performing well above average.
In the December 15, 2004 NSTA Reports she concluded that "direct instruction alone cannot replace the in-depth experience with science concepts that inquiry-based strategies provide.