Research on Direct Instruction continues to appear. Many studies are found in general education and social science journals. The Journal of Direct Instruction is exclusively devoted to publishing scholarly work on DI. Direct Instruction News provides timely information about recent events in the DI community. The Association for Direct Instruction convenes annual conferences on DI and links practitioners and researchers from around the nation. See The Journal of Direct Instruction and DI News.
The NIFDI Research Office produces technical reports analyzing data from schools across the country that have implemented direct instruction. See NIFDI Research Reports.
A very important issue facing anyone who studies Direct Instruction is ensuring fidelity of treatment - that the program is implemented as it was designed. Learning to teach in an explicit and systematic manner takes practice, and studies show that fidelity of treatment has a strong impact on student outcomes.
Knowing the extent to which programs have been implemented with fidelity can also impact the accuracy of meta-analysis and literature reviews. Because fidelity of implementation is so important, researchers and practitioners have developed instruments to assess how well DI is implemented and the extent to which classroom and school practices conform to the original designs.
Researchers who would like to add their contributions to our research database or communicate with the NIFDI research office regarding their work may contact us at research@nifdi.org.
