Five years ago Doug Carnine, co-author with Siegfried Engelmann of the landmark text Theory of Instruction, funded the conversion of the book to a digital format. His purpose in funding the conversion was so that the book could be offered electronically via ResearchGate. ResearchGate is a free service available to scientists and researchers and has 17 million members. It connects people doing research in hundreds of fields, including education and human development. Authors can publish their publications, increasing the diffusion of information across a wide range of readers.

A feature of this website is the ability to track how many people have accessed a specific work. We note that Theory of Instruction has been viewed over 20,000 times worldwide. Of particular interest is that the United Kingdom lays claim to the largest group of viewers. This coincides with the growing interest of DI in the UK.

If you don't qualify for a free ResearchGate account you can purchase the book in Kindle or print format from our online store. Thank you, Doug, for your ongoing support for Direct Instruction. We send our congratulations on reaching this milestone!

The National Institute for Direct Instruction is pleased to announce that we have begun selling Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE) through our online store!

DISE, formerly published by Voyager Sopris Learning, is designed to help non-English speaking students who have at least a third grade knowledge of their native language achieve a functional mastery of the English language in one year or less. The program features an explicit, systematic instructional model that supports English language learners. DISE only teaches spoken English -- not reading or writing skills. All lessons are presented in English, and the teacher does not need to know the students' native language. Students are taught both social and academic vocabulary.

The program has two levels. Level I consists of 100 90-minute lessons. Students who have no knowledge of the English language will need between 140 and 170 days to complete the 100 lessons in Level I of the program. Level II is a continuation of Level I and consists of 80 lessons. Students will need 100-120 school days to complete all 80 lessons. Lessons in Level II require 50 minutes versus the 90 minutes required per lesson in Level I.

Click here for complete pricing and ordering information.

All Students Can Succeed-A Half Century of Research on the Effectiveness of Direct Instruction has been released by Lexington Books. The book, authored by Jean Stockard, Timothy Wood, Cristy Coughlin and Caitlin Rasplica Khoury, is an extensive meta-analysis of the research literature on Direct Instruction.

Senior author Jean Stockard comments, "The literature on DI's effectiveness is massive, no doubt greater than that involving any other curricular program. In our research we found over 500 reports of the effectiveness of DI published over a span of 50 years. We tried to find every study of the program, from research articles to books to dissertations to newsletters. We carefully read each of the reports and made extensive notes (or codes) on the contents including the subject matter, tests used, types of analysis, participants, setting, and, of course, the results."

The publisher says, "Extensive statistical analyses show that estimates of DI's effectiveness are consistent over time, with different research approaches, across different school environments, students from all types of backgrounds, different comparative programs, and both academic and non- academic outcomes, including student self confidence." They go on to say, "An evenhanded style accessible to policy makers, educators, and parents, the authors describe the theory underlying DI, summarize its development, history, and use, systematically examine criticisms; and discuss policy implications."

Click here to order your copy from Lexington Books

Join us Monday, July 27 at 9am Pacific, for the Opening Keynote for the Virtual Direct Instruction Conference. The keynote, delivered by Bill Sower, is titled Reason to Hope, Direct Instruction and the Future of our Fragile World. Part one, Conscientious Blindness, traces the history of policies that have directly or indirectly contributed to the continuing plight of under educated students. Part two, The Medicine Wheel of Educational Solutions, presents viewers with a framework on how we can give students the education they truly deserve.