Tackling Learning Loss with Direct Instruction
The last 18 months have taken a toll on everyone involved in education. Research after the first lockdown estimated that new year 7 pupils were almost two years behind their expected progress in writing. 11-year-olds starting secondary school in September will have faced another lockdown and even greater disruption. Learning loss is a significant challenge that schools will need to contend with in the coming months.
As education consultant Tom Sherrington has said, the best plan for tackling learning loss is to teach students as well as we can. To do that, we need to follow the evidence. Students learning the basics in reading, writing and maths need explicit teaching. They need concepts explained to them clearly, they need frequent low-stakes testing and they need retrieval practice.
Direct Instruction (DI)
Zig Engelmann’s Direct Instruction programmes provide a perfectly designed solution for evidence-informed teachers. The core packages are in reading, writing and maths. Primary schools can use them to take students with absolutely no knowledge and teach them to fluency. Secondary schools can use specially designed ‘corrective’ programmes that help students falling behind in these basic skills.
Direct Instruction programmes are designed to guarantee student learning. The team in charge ensure that 90% of all the content can be learned by 90% of all children before they publish their work. In addition, there’s copious external research confirming the power of DI. For instance, the effectiveness of DI is apparent in the largest educational research study of all time as well as a recent meta-analysis of the programmes.
Virtual Roundtable: Delivering Solutions and Results with Direct Instruction, Thursday 20th May
In May, McGraw Hill got a group of educators together. They discussed DI and how teachers can implement the programmes in UK schools. You can view this discussion at the end of the article.
In their discussion, they covered a numbered of topics.
Training and Development
Amina has been teaching both Corrective Reading and Corrective Mathematics to students in Years 7 and 8 for over two years. In our webinar, she discussed the comprehensive training provided by McGraw Hill and the National Institute for Direct Instruction.
Some teachers find themselves overwhelmed by the idea of having to teach with a script. However, Amina passionately explained her conversion from sceptic to outright DI cheerleader. She explained how all teachers go through a rigorous two-day training programme that helps them master the basics of DI.
In addition, she explained that teachers receive ongoing support in their implementation of DI from a series of experts based around the UK. These professionals visit schools, observe lessons and coach teachers that are new to DI. These interventions help to ensure success for both teacher and student.
“The training meant that my confidence with DI has grown, and as a result, the student’s confidence in DI has grown.”
Amina Jabbar, Teacher at Washwood Heath Academy, Birmingham
Timetabling and Implementation
Jonathan is such a fan of DI that he’s now implemented it in three schools. Gloucester Academy uses Corrective Reading and Corrective Mathematics for students in Years 7, 8 and 11.
In Jonathan’s secondary school, all year 7 students are assessed on their arrival. After assessment, the teachers identify the lowest attaining cohort. These students are then taught together for English and Maths. In these lessons, students are only taught DI programmes. As a result, students can receive up to five lessons per subject per week of DI.
As Jonathan explained, the use of DI doesn’t come at the cost of a rounded curriculum. Students in DI cohorts still attend all normal lessons in addition to their timetabled English and Maths DI lessons. He also noted that student’s behaviour and attainment is improved in these lessons as a result of their engagement with DI.
“If you follow the programme, it’ll revolutionise the way you see your students and the way you teach your students.”
Jonathan Heap, Headteacher at Gloucester Academy
Behaviour and Success
Risca has used DI for over 15 years and first came to it from an academic background. She’s taught almost every DI programme, from Expressive Writing to Connecting Maths Concepts.
In our webinar, she explained the power of DI for students on the ASD spectrum. It brings consistency and routine to lessons. Students know exactly what to expect. In addition, its clarity and design mean that students literally can’t fail to learn. The success students feel is highly motivating and means that children she works with are exceptionally engaged in DI lessons.
On top of this, Risca has seen first-hand the power of DI. Some children have come to her unable to read and write. But, with DI, Risca’s been able to change that. DI has helped transform students and enabled them to settle back into mainstream education, prepared for the challenges that all children face.
“As a behaviour analyst I look at the DI programmes and see so many of the behavioural programmes that we recommend to ensure that students are attending and learning.”
Risca Solomon, Founder and Behaviour Analyst, Skybound Therapies Ltd., South Wales
Webinar Discussion
To conclude, DI is an exceptionally powerful tool. After the challenges of the last 18 months, teachers and schools would benefit enormously from the lessons it can bring.
You can hear more about each of our panellists’ experience with DI below.
Learn more about how Direct Instruction can work in your classroom here.
If you’re looking to implement this transformative programme in your school, then please contact Emma Chambers, your Account Manager for Schools in UK and Europe.
Meet the Author - Sam Hall
Sam is a Learning Executive at Up Learn and an avid Direct Instruction blogger. Sam's DI journey began in 2018 when he first heard mysterious whisperings about Project Follow Through. Since then, he's become something of a DI fanatic. He's delivered scripted lessons, written blogs and gone viral with his work into DI. Currently, he's a Learning Executive at the online learning company Up Learn where he gets to spend all day applying Zig Engelmann's ideas to A Level content.