Engelmann's Direct Instruction (DI) is a specific model of instruction within a larger more generic category of teacher directed instruction. The goal of DI is to accelerate learning by maximizing efficiency in the design and delivery of instruction. Rapid pacing and choral group response punctuated by individual turns characterize the delivery of a DI lesson These features are the ones an observer notices first. Fewer observers are aware of the design, the heart of which is a complex theory of generalization. Engelmann hypothesized that the children could respond perfectly to a smaller set of carefully engineered tasks. For example, in spelling children who learned 600 word parts called "morphographs" and 3 rules for connecting them could spell 12 000 words. Children rehearse the 600 parts and the 3 rules to a level of automaticity that allows them to spell the 12 000 with ease. On the other end of the spectrum from basic skills, recent research has applied DI design to teaching higher order performance, such as deductive and inductive reasoning in history, literary analysis, chemistry, earth science, legal reasoning, problem solving, critical thinking, ratio and proportions and more (see Kameenui & Carnine, in press). Much intervention research has investigated the principles of sequencing and designed and refined them over the years.

The design theory would be extremely time consuming to teach to inservice teachers in workshop settings. The complexity in the design though is a function of the specific content and concepts to be taught, so by providing teachers with developed lessons, the complex job of design was already completed. Teachers using the packaged programs could learn the design theory while they teach, rather than before they teach, and later begin to extend and modify the programs or even apply the theory to design instruction for other content for which they had no programs.

The goal of the programs was to include every piece that was necessary to make the lessons successful. This was not to make the programs "teacher-proof" though, anymore than airplanes are "pilot-proof." DI designers test the programs carefully before publishing them, just as aeronautic engineers test airplanes before marketing them. Each DI program is extensively revised based on specific student error data from the field test. Scripting the lessons allowed sharing of these "polished stones" across teachers. Also scripting helped reduce the amount of teacher talk. According to Engelmann's theory, children learn by working through the sequence of tasks with carefully timed comments from the teacher. Children learn little from straight teacher talk. Too much teacher talk decreased pupil-motivation, drew out the lesson length unnecessarily and often caused confusion by changing the focus of the tasks, disrupting the development of the larger generalization, of which a teacher the first time though is usually unaware.

Even though the programs are carefully tested and scripted, successful use of them requires training in the special techniques of delivery. Teachers must make decisions in response to the children's performance. Some of the most important decisions involve placing each child appropriately and moving the children through the lessons at a pace that maximizes their learning potential.

The scripted presentations are a part of the whole lesson, and the DI lessons are part of the whole school day. The lessons also include opportunities for group and independent work. A good DI teacher also creates additional activities that allow students to make use of their learning in various situations.

*excerpted from: Effective School Practices, 15(2), Spring 1996