Running head: DIRECT INSTRUCTION 1 2 DIRECT INSTRUCTION Learning Strategy Research Paper: Direct Instruction Student Name Liberty University Course Section Date Abstract Direct Instruction is a highly effective, though controversial, educational strategy involving a predetermined skills sequence that incorporates previous skills and information into each successive lesson and involves active student participation, positive reinforcements, choral responses, and scripted lessons. While Direct Instruction has been proven to be quite effective in a number of studies there does seem to be widespread resistance to this educational method. This resistance seems to be mostly due to the conflict between the aspects of Direct Instruction and the inquiry-led philosophy that is such a large part of the current educational landscape. In order to increase the use of Direct Instruction educators need to be provided with information regarding the efficacy of Direct Instruction and opportunities to experiment with this learning strategy. Introduction Direct instruction is one of the most studied teaching strategies in the field of education. It is also one of the most controversial. Further, despite the fact that this strategy has been so widely studied, there seems to be some confusion regarding what direct instruction actually is. The lack of understanding regarding the nature of direct instruction and the current philosophical environment of education seriously hampers the implementation of direct instruction into the instructional environment. Before looking at the advantages and disadvantages of this learning strategy this paper will first provide a basic definition of what direct instruction is. What Is Direct Instruction? There are three terms that are often used interchangeably to refer to direct instruction: uppercase “D” upper case “I” Direct Instruction, lowercase “d” lowercase “i” direct instruction, and explicit instruction. However, there does seem to be some differences between the three terms. Explicit instruction refers to a philosophical approach that is characterized as being “unambiguous, structured, systematic, and scaffolded” (Hughes, Morris, Therrien, & Benson, 2017). In short, explicit instruction is a philosophy of delivering academic content rather than a specific strategy a teacher would use in the classroom. In this line of thinking, direct instruction fits into the broader category of explicit instruction. However, while the two different versions of direct instruction share similar characteristics, there does seem to be a slight distinction between the two in the educational research literature. Direct Instruction (DI) is generally considered to refer to a specific scripted program that a teacher follows to deliver educational content whereas direct instruction (di) lacks the scripted instruction and prepackaged curriculum (Hughes, Morris, Therrien, & Benson, 2017; McMullen & Madelane, 2014: Kamps, Heitzman-Powel ...

1. Running head: DIRECT INSTRUCTION 1
2
DIRECT INSTRUCTION
Learning Strategy Research Paper: Direct Instruction
Student Name
Liberty University
Course Section
Date
Abstract
Direct Instruction is a highly effective, though controversial,
educational strategy involving a predetermined skills sequence
that incorporates previous skills and information into each
successive lesson and involves active student participation,
positive reinforcements, choral responses, and scripted lessons.
While Direct Instruction has been proven to be quite effective
in a number of studies there does seem to be widespread
resistance to this educational method. This resistance seems to
be mostly due to the conflict between the aspects of Direct
Instruction and the inquiry-led philosophy that is such a large
part of the current educational landscape. In order to increase
the use of Direct Instruction educators need to be provided with
information regarding the efficacy of Direct Instruction and
opportunities to experiment with this learning strategy.

2. Introduction
Direct instruction is one of the most studied teaching
strategies in the field of education. It is also one of the most
controversial. Further, despite the fact that this strategy has
been so widely studied, there seems to be some confusion
regarding what direct instruction actually is. The lack of
understanding regarding the nature of direct instruction and the
current philosophical environment of education seriously
hampers the implementation of direct instruction into the
instructional environment. Before looking at the advantages and
disadvantages of this learning strategy this paper will first
provide a basic definition of what direct instruction is.
What Is Direct Instruction?
There are three terms that are often used interchangeably
to refer to direct instruction: uppercase “D” upper case “I”
Direct Instruction, lowercase “d” lowercase “i” direct
instruction, and explicit instruction. However, there does seem
to be some differences between the three terms. Explicit
instruction refers to a philosophical approach that is
characterized as being “unambiguous, structured, systematic,
and scaffolded” (Hughes, Morris, Therrien, & Benson, 2017). In
short, explicit instruction is a philosophy of delivering
academic content rather than a specific strategy a teacher would
use in the classroom. In this line of thinking, direct instruction
fits into the broader category of explicit instruction. However,
while the two different versions of direct instruction share
similar characteristics, there does seem to be a slight distinction
between the two in the educational research literature. Direct
Instruction (DI) is generally considered to refer to a specific
scripted program that a teacher follows to deliver educational
content whereas direct instruction (di) lacks the scripted
instruction and prepackaged curriculum (Hughes, Morris,
Therrien, & Benson, 2017; McMullen & Madelane, 2014:
Kamps, Heitzman-Powell, Rosenberg, Mason, Schwartz, &

3. Romine, 2016). The scripted program of Direct Instruction (DI)
was created through the work of Siegfried Engelmann in the late
1960’s as a means to eliminate the idea that a student’s failure
to learn was the fault of the student (McMullen & Madelane,
2014). Engelmann believed that a lack of student learning
should be seen as a consequence of inadequate teaching and not
due to some moral or intellectual inadequacy on the part of the
student (McMullen & Madelane, 2014). Engelmann theorized
that using task analysis to break more complex educational
content into smaller steps that would build upon each other
would create an educational environment that would benefit any
student (McMullen & Madelane, 2014). Based on the research
of Engelmann and his colleagues, researchers and educators
began to develop several scripted programs for classroom use
such as Reading Mastery, Spelling Mastery, and Corrective
Reading (McMullen & Madelane, 2014).
Advantages and Disadvantages of Direct Instruction
Advantages
There are many advantages to Direct Instructional strategies.
One of the most important advantages for classroom
management is the reduction in off-task behavior that occurs
during Direct Instruction as opposed to less-structured student
work times (Hempenstall, 2015). By its very nature, Direct
Instruction involves a high-degree of student participation due
to its use of positive reinforcement, unison student responses,
and heavy reliance on active student participation (McMullen &
Madelane, 2014). Active student participation and engagement
is one of the methods that are recommended to decrease student
misbehavior and keep students on-task during instructional time
(Burden, 2013).
Another very important advantage of Direct Instruction
programs is the high success rate that has been seen in
classrooms where this strategy has been employed. In a review
of 300 studies on Direct Instruction that included over 40,000
students Hattie calculated an effect size of .59, placing Direct
Instruction programs in the high range when it comes to a

4. programs effect on student learning (Hughes, Morris, Therrien,
& Benson, 2017).
A third advantage of Direct Instruction is that it has been
so thouroughly researched since it was first developed in the
1960’s. Further, it has been proven to be an extremely effective
means of educating students, especially students from low
socio-economic backgrounds and students with disabilities
(McMullen & Madelane, 2014). For example, Project Follow
Through, which gathered data on approximately 70,000 students
and was one of the largest educational surveys ever conducted,
found that the Direct Instructional model consistently produced
the best results in terms of student learning (McMullen &
Madelane, 2014). There are very few other educational
strategies and methods, if any, that have gone through the
rigourous scrutiny that Direct Instruction has undergone.
Disadvantages
One of the main disadvantages to Direct Instruction is the fact
that it is so unpopular in the educational community at large.
This lack of popularity is probably one of the most difficult
aspects to overcome. One reason for this lack of popularity
could be the fact that much educational philosophy is based on
inquiry based (McMullen & Madelane, 2014). The aspects of
Direct Instruction that make it so successful are at odds with the
inquiry-led philosphy that is in vogue at this time. Another
possible reason for negative teacher attitudes towards Direct
Instruction could be the belief that these programs taking
teaching out of the hands of the teacher (McMullen &
Madelane, 2014). Due to the fact that these programs are
scripted and come with prepared materials teachers feel as if
they are not being allowed to teach.
A second disadvantage of scripted Direct Instruction
programs would be the cost to the school. Pre-made curriculum
are expensive and are generally designed for school-wide
implementation. The school would need to purchase the
teacher’s guide, student textbooks, and workbooks for students
to use every year. This would have to be done for every

5. classroom at every grade level. While most of these materials
would be one-time purchases, student workbooks tend to be
rather expensive and need to be repurchased every year.
Finally, even though Direct Instruction has broad scientific
support, there are some studies that suggest the educational
gains made through a purely Direct Instructional method are
comparable to a hybrid-mix of discovery learning and direct
instruction referred to as “Invention” (Chase & Klahr, 2017).
While the study conducted by Chase & Klahr are by no means
definitive they do suggest that Direct Instruction is by no means
the ultimate learning strategy and student success with this
method could be influenced by course content and educational
learning goals.
Direct Instruction Programs
FLASHCARD SYSTEM (di)
The direct instruction flashcard system is not a scripted
program so it falls in the lowercase direct instruction category.
However, this system is very systematic, structured, scaffolded
and is unambiguous regarding the desired outcome. In this
system the math facts for a particular operation (i.e. addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division) are sorted into sets based
on the baseline data that was collected. Each set comprises of
facts that a student knows well along with facts with which a
student is less familiar. For each set a teacher or
paraprofessional presents a flashcard to the student. If the
student provides the correct answer the card is moved to the
back of the stack. If the student provides an incorrect answer or
does not answer within 2-3 seconds, the educator leads the
student through a model, error, and test error correction process
(Bjordahl, Talboy, Neyman, Mclaughlin, & Hoenike, 2014).
After the student goes through a deck three times with no errors
it is considered mastered and the student moves on to another
set of cards.
Advantages

6. One of the advantages of this direct instruction approach is
the simplicity with which it can be implemented. After the
initial baseline data is collected, it is easy for any educator to
step in and deliver the instruction and practice. Even educators
not familiar with the student, room, or this particular learning
strategy- such as a substitute teacher, can quickly and easily
provide instruction to students through this method. A student’s
parents could also easily provide practice and instruction at
home if needed.
A second advantage of this strategy is the fact that
students receive quick and immediate feedback. A student will
know within seconds whether or not their answer was correct.
Further, math facts that were answered incorrectly receive extra
instruction and practice to ensure that the student’s
misunderstanding is quickly corrected and prevents a student
from learning incorrect information.
Disadvantages
A major disadvantage of this approach is that this strategy
does take time to implement. For example, Bjordahl and
colleagues provided daily, hour-long sessions for each set of
flashcards (Bjordahl, Talboy, Neyman, Mclaughlin, & Hoenike,
2014). It took anywhere between 4-6 sessions for the student in
their study to complete one set. The sessions for maintenance
took 14 sessions and the researchers were not able to begin the
maintenance session for set 4 (Bjordahl, Talboy, Neyman,
Mclaughlin, & Hoenike, 2014). Further, student absences and
school activities often interrupted the implementation of this
strategy.
READING MASTERY (DI)
The Reading Mastery program is a scripted program based
off of the work of Engelmann and colleagues that focuses on
“phonemic awareness, letter-sound correspondence, decoding,
and beginning comprehension skills” (Kamps, Heitzman-Powell,
Rosenberg, Mason, Schwartz, & Romine, 2016). This program is
a pre-packaged program that includes teacher books with
scripted lessons, tips for effectively teaching with this Direct

7. Instruction strategy, and student workbooks (Kamps, Heitzman-
Powell, Rosenberg, Mason, Schwartz, & Romine, 2016).
Advantages
One major advantage of this program is the academic gains
that students consistently make when this reading program is
employed. In the study conducted by Kamps and colleagues,
students in the Reading Mastery group showed greater gains
than students in the group in which reading instruction was
conducted in the usual manner (Kamps, Heitzman-Powell,
Rosenberg, Mason, Schwartz, & Romine, 2016).
A second advantage of this program is its effectiveness
when used with students who have disabilities. For example, in
the study sited above, students with autism made significant
gains in word recognition, letter sound correspondence, and
greatly improved their reading scores on the Woodcock Reading
Mastery Test (Kamps, Heitzman-Powell, Rosenberg, Mason,
Schwartz, & Romine, 2016).
Disadvantages
One disadvantage of this program was the lack of
difference between the Reading Mastery group and the
comparison group on the Woodcock Word Attack and Passage
Comprehension tests. Both groups made comparable gains on
these tests regardless of the type of teaching method
implemented (Kamps, Heitzman-Powell, Rosenberg, Mason,
Schwartz, & Romine, 2016). Therefore, this program would
need additional resources to make gains in these areas.
SPELLING MASTERY (DI)
The Spelling Mastery program is a six-level program that
was first published by Engelmann and his colleagues in 1980
and is a “generative spelling strategy” which emphasizes
“morphographic word analysis, …suffixes and roots along with
the rules by which they are combined into words” (Hempenstall,
2015). This program was born out of an earlier program called
Morphographic Spelling, which was first developed by Dixon, a
colleague of Engelmann.

8. Advantages
An important advantage for this program is the fact that it
provides students with immediate corrective feedback which
research has shown to be critical in developing strong spelling
skills in students. This goes against the belief that is widely
held that correcting student spelling errors when they are young
will damage their self-confidence (Hempenstall, 2015).
Another important advantage of this program is the fact
that it helps students to understand that the English language is
not some random assortment of letters but an organized
language that is governed by rules (Hempenstall, 2015). And,
while there are many exceptions to these rules, even the
exceptions tend to be governed by rules of their own
(Hempenstall, 2015).
Disadvantages
One disadvantage of this program is the possibility of
teaching students that “all words are spelled regularly, and can
be written by following this simple set of rules” (Hempenstall,
2015). As was stated before, there are many rules that are
exceptions to the general rules of the English language;
although, even these exceptions are generally governed by rules
of their own. According to Hempenstall, Spelling Mastery
especially fails when it comes to spelling multisyllabic words
(Hempenstall, 2015).
Another disadvantage of the Spelling Mastery program is
the demand it places on a student’s memory. There are some
words that it is easiest simply to memorize due to their
irregularities when it comes to following the general spelling
rules (Hempenstall, 2015). However, Hempenstall recommends
grouping similarly irregular words together so that students will
see the patterns that exist between these words (Hempenstall,
2015).
Conclusion
While there are advantages to an inquiry based learning
experience it seems that an explicit instructional model may
have more advantages when it comes to student learning.

9. Further, it is possible that the critical thinking skills that
educators want students to develop are impossible without the
prerequisite knowledge background that would allow a student
to consider an issue critically (Hempenstall, 2015). For
example, how could a student truly evaluate the soundness of a
science experiment without previous knowledge regarding the
scientific method, variable manipulation, and the area of
science being studied? Having this knowledge stored in one’s
head makes a critical analysis of the design of a given
experiment possible.
There are a few things that need to be done in order to
increase student learning through the use of Direct Instruction.
First, educational professionals need to be educated regarding
the strengths of explicit instruction generally, and Direct
Instruction in particular and provided with the knowledge that
the implementation of Direct Instruction does not necessitate
the giving up of teaching expertise. This process should involve
opportunities for teachers to participate in a hands-on
experience with Direct Instruction through venues such as
workshops or school improvement meetings. Second,
institutions of higher learning need to take a second look at
explicit and Direct Instruction and provide future educators
with a more well-rounded view of the different educational
tools that are available to them when they become teachers with
their own classrooms. Third, educational researchers should
begin looking for ways to provide educators a means of phasing
in explicit instruction into their lesson plans. This may cause
educators to feel less overwhelmed by using scripted materials
and provide them with a sense that they are not sacrificing their
ability to teach through the implementation of Direct
Instruction.
The use of Direct Instruction is something that needs to be
encouraged. Its demonstrated efficacy and the rigorous
education that it provides is something that our students need.
Further, the basic skills and knowledge that Direct Instruction
allows students to attain will allow them to take part in the

10. inquiry-led lesson plans that have become so popular in the
field of education. That alone should cause educators to want to
implement a Direct Instruction program.
References
Bjordahl, M., Talboy, R., Neyman, J., Mclaughlin, T. F., &
Hoenike, R. (2014). Effect of
a direct instruction flascards system for increasing the
performance of basic
division facts for a middle school student with ADD/OHI.
Journal on
Educational Psychology , 8 (2), 7-14.
Burden, P. (2013). Classroom management: Creating a
successful K-12 learning
community (5th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey, United States of
America: John
Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chase, C. C., & Klahr, D. (2017). Invention versus Direct
Instruction: For some
content, it's a tie. Journal of Science Education and Technology
, 26, 582-596.
Hempenstall, K. (2015). Spelling Mastery and Spelling through
Morphographs:
Direct Instruction programs for beginning and low-progress
spellers.

11. Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties , 20 (1), 55-81.
Hughes, C. A., Morris, J. R., Therrien, W. J., & Benson, S. K.
(2017). Explicit instruction:
Historical and contemporary contexts. Learning Disabilities
Research &
Practice , 32 (3), 140-148.
Kamps, D., Heitzman-Powell, L., Rosenberg, N., Mason, R.,
Schwartz, I., & Romine, R.
S. (2016). Effects of Reading Mastery as a small group
intervention for young
children with ASD. Journal of Developmental and Physical
Disabilities , 28,
703-722.
McMullen, F., & Madelane, A. (2014). Why is there so much
resistance to Direct
Instruction? Australian Journal of Learning Difficulties , 19 (2),
137-151.
Running head: DIRECT INSTRUCTION
1

12. Learning Strategy Research Paper: Direct Instruction
Student Name
Liberty University
Course Section
Date
Running head: DIRECT INSTRUCTION 1
Learning Strategy Research Paper: Direct Instruction
Student Name
Liberty University
Course Section
Date
Human Resource Law (please do not accept assignment if you
do not know Human Resource Law)
LP3 Assignment: Fact Pattern

13. Instructions
MUST BE APA FORMAT, INTEXT CITATIONS &
REFERENCES
Case Study is sent separately.
Do not just answer questions only, paper must be in an “essay”
style format with answers to questions incorporated into the
essay.
This assignment will assess Competency 3: Explore legal issues
affecting the management of a diverse workforce.
Directions: Read the case of EEOC v. Management Hospitality
of Racine, 666 F.3d 422 (7th Cir. 2012) summary found in
Chapter 9 page 314-316 of your textbook. Write a paper,
incorporating answers to Case Questions 1 through 5, found at
the end of the case summary. Your written work should include
discussion of the situation, responses to the Case Questions, and
any other questions that your instructor sends. Include your
description of how the situation should have been handled.
Explain the court’s decision in the case. Do you agree? Support
your position with additional research and analysis.
Write your responses using correct grammar, APA citations, and
analysis of the situation. As a guide, your paper should include
800-1000 words of content. Your title page, CoA and references
do not count towards your word content. Do not rewrite the fact
pattern in the case, just highlight any facts you determine are
significant and impact your discussions (this should only be a
paragraph). You will be graded on your analysis of the situation
and how well you support your analysis with both the laws and
the facts.
Your analysis should be at a high level, meeting all content
required in the Assignment presented. All work should be
completed following APA guidelines contained in the
Publications Manual, 6th edition. Please ensure that your work
is properly cited. A failure to properly cite sources may result
in a grade reduction or a grade of zero.

14. EDSP 410
Strategy Research Paper Instructions
1. Topic:
· note-taking strategies
2. Research Paper
In your paper, you will need to describe/explain your chosen
strategy and its currect use. You will provide information on
how this strategy can be implemented in the school settings.
Fully analyze the strategy you chose; consider the strategy’s
advantages, disadvatages, the different methods/varieties of its
use, how it would be most effective in your future classroom,
etc. Use examples from the article to support your personal
reflection/reactions. Make sure you provide valuable
information pertaining to the strategy selected.
Requirements:
· Type your document using Microsoft Word (no other software
program is acceptable).
· Your paper must be written in current APA format.
· You must have 4–5 pages (not including the title page,
abstract, and reference page).
· You must use professional writing throughout your paper. Do
not use contractions (“can’t”), slang (“a lot”).
· Do not use first person (“I”) in your paper.
· A minimum of 6 sources are required; at least 4 of the 6
sources must be journal articles. You may use any of your
journal articles selected for you Journal Article Reviews as
sources for your paper.Layout/Style:
· Include a title page with the name of the paper, your name,
course number, and a running head.
· Type short heading and page number at upper right margin on
each page. [In Microsoft Word, click “View” and then “Header
and Footer.”]

15. · Prepare an abstract (following the title page) to summarize the
paper in 1 paragraph. (To begin a new page in Microsoft Word,
click “Insert” and then “Page Break”)
· Type the references page at the end of the paper.
· Double-space the paper.
· Follow the 4 page minimum for the paper (includes text only;
this page count does not include the title page, abstract, or
references page).
· Cite sources within the paper in the form (author, year). Every
source cited in the paper must be on the reference page; every
entry on the reference page must be cited in the paper.
Sample Special Education Journals:
· American Annals of the Deaf
· American Journal on Mental Retardation
· Behavior Disorders
· Beyond Behavior
· Clearing House
· Diagnostique
· Education and Training in Mental Retardation/Developmental
Disabilities
Exceptional Children
· Exceptional Parent
· Focus on Exceptional Children
· Gifted Child Quarterly
· Journal for the Education of Gifted
· Journal of Learning Disabilities
· Journal of Special Education
· Language and Speech
· Physical Therapy
· Remedial and Special Education

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