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What our partners say…

NIFDI Has a Solution for All of Your Students' Mathematics Needs!

Do your students perform below grade level in mathematics? Have performance gaps in mathematics increased at your school or district over the last few years? Or do you want to prevent performance gaps from developing by implementing an approach that has been proven to promote universal numeracy to virtually all students with functional expressive and receptive language skills?

The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) has a solution for all of your students' mathematics needs. NIFDI is the leading provider of training, coaching, and implementation support for the Direct Instruction (DI) methodology, the most well-researched approach to reading instruction. Click on the following to access a pdf bibliography  of research studies on DI. 

NIFDI supports both developmental and remedial mathematics programs

NIFDI can support the implementation of the following developmental mathematics programs:

NIFDI can also support the implementation of the Corrective Mathematics remedial mathematics program, which includes the following modules:

  • addition;
  • subtraction;
  • multiplication;
  • division;
  • basic fractions;
  • fractions, decimals, percents, and
  • ratios and equations.

NIFDI provides training and support that meet your school’s needs

NIFDI can support a wide range of types of mathematics at your school or district, including:

  • tutoring programs,
  • resource room instruction, and
  • schoolwide or district-wide mathematics initiatives.

NIFDI support can include any of the following:

A full immersion, schoolwide implementation of DI ties all of these elements together. 

For building the capacity of your lead instructional staff, NIFDI offers the following as part of the National Direct Instruction Conference:

Let us hear from you!

Fill out the following form to let us know the mathematics needs of the students at your school or district.

Or contact us at info@nifd.org or 1 877 485-1973 toll-free.

Download a  pdf free PDF to learn how you can achieve success for every student with NIFDI!

Tutoring Support Division

The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) has launched a new division of the company to support schools and districts as they use Direct Instruction (DI) programs to tutor students who perform below grade-level expectations. All of the DI programs listed under The Programs tab can be used effectively in one-on-one or small-group tutoring settings. Click on the links below to learn more about some of the most popular programs used for tutoring each program:

NIFDI provides a comprehensive set of services to schools and districts to ensure that tutoring with the DI programs is effective for all students:

  • training a testing team who administer in-program assessments (placement tests) to determine the optimal starting points in the programs that match the students’ current skill repertoire;
  • initial training for tutors that lasts 12 hours (which can be distributed over several days) and provides participants with the skills they need to teach students one-on-one effectively using a specific DI program;
  • follow-up training sessions on essential delivery skills that match the development of the programs used for tutoring children;
  • onsite or virtual coaching of tutors;
  • coaches’ training for supervisors of tutors;
  • data analysis of student performance in the DI programs;
  • weekly management review calls with the supervisor of the tutoring program.

For more information on NIFDI training and support for a tutoring program, including pricing, call 1-877-485-1973 toll-free or email info@nifdi.org. Help ensure that every child in your school or district achieves success this year through an effective Direct Instruction tutoring program with NIFDI support!

English Language Learners

DISE teaches spoken English to non-English-speaking students who have the equivalent of at least a 3rd-grade level understanding of their native language. The program assumes no prior knowledge of English as it builds students’ English language proficiency step-by-step through carefully crafted lessons that are accompanied by PowerPoint instructional display slides that are downloadable from the publisher’s website.

Español to English teaches the skills Spanish-speaking students need to gradually transition fully into Reading Mastery Language Grade K or Language for Learning, a Direct Instruction early language program. The program provides the building blocks of listening and reading comprehension by teaching word knowledge, common information, concepts, sentence forms, classification, and problem-solving. All skills and concepts taught are continuously integrated into more sophisticated review and application exercises. As students master the lessons, their ability to function successfully in classrooms where English is the language of instruction steadily increases.

Mathematics

Corrective Mathematics is a remedial math program focused on teaching the basic math skills needed for higher-level math. The program comes in seven modules that address specific mathematics deficits:
    • Addition
    • Subtraction
    • Multiplication
    • Division
    • Basic Fractions
    • Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
    • Ratios and Equations
Essentials for Algebra teaches pre-algebra and prepares students for a traditional Algebra 1 course.

Reading

Decoding is an accelerated program, and when taught to mastery, students can gain two years or more of reading skills in one school year. Levels A, B1, B2, and C are generally used for older students (grade 4 and above) who have not attained grade level in reading but for whom Reading Mastery would not be age-appropriate. The program is used occasionally for students in grade 3.

Comprehension Levels A, B1, and B2 are used for older students (grade 4 and above) who have not attained grade level in reading comprehension but for whom the lower levels of Reading Mastery Language might not be appropriate. Level C is primarily used for students in grades 6-12 who have developed some comprehension skills but have a deficit in advanced vocabulary, lack the facility to extract information from sources, have not mastered reasoning skills, and/or have trouble learning a new concept from written instructions. Level C is also for grade 4 through grade 6 students who have completed Reading Mastery Grade 5.
 
This popular and highly effective literacy instructional program for parents and tutors has been used with a wide range of early literacy learners to help them become successful, independent readers when the provisions of the book are followed carefully. Over a million copies of the book, which has recently been revised and updated, have been sold since it was first published a half-century ago.

 

Spelling

Spelling Through Morphographs teaches older students spelling rules while utilizing a systematic review of every morphograph (prefix, root, or suffix).

 

Writing

Essentials for Writing is designed for students in middle school and high school who are at risk of failing to meet high school graduation requirements in English Language Arts. The program consists of 95 lessons designed to teach students to compose narrative passages, stories with a specific theme, descriptive essays, autobiographical sketches, responses to literature, and persuasive arguments and position papers. The program is appropriate for middle and high school students who have completed Expressive Writing, described below.
Expressive Writing systematically teaches fundamental writing skills to students in third grade and higher. At the end of Expressive Writing 1, students can write a paragraph that describes a sequence of related actions using simple declarative sentences, punctuate sentences correctly, write consistently in the simple past tense, and write paragraphs that include sufficient detail and stay on topic. By the end of Expressive Writing 2, students can write a multi-paragraph narrative that is written clearly (using clear pronoun referents and including details necessary for clarity), incorporates a variety of sentence types, and includes correctly punctuated direct quotes. 

NIFDI School Leader Mentoring Program

What is the NIFDI School Leader Mentoring Program:

The NIFDI School Leader Mentoring Program is a structured yet flexible year-long program for new and experienced school or district-level leaders who want to increase their effectiveness in supporting Direct Instruction (DI) at their schools.

What is the purpose of the School Leader Mentoring Program?

The purpose of the mentoring program is to increase the skills, awareness, and confidence of building coordinators, assistant principals, and other administrators in supporting a Direct Instruction (DI) implementation.

What is the rationale of the Mentoring Program?

Just as teachers benefit greatly from receiving coaching after they have successfully completed a preservice (program) training in a particular level of a DI program, leaders benefit greatly from a supportive mentoring program after they have received training on their roles and functions. The training entails simulating the classroom environment in stages with examples and activities designed to convey to participants the essential functions of instructional leaders. However, the training environment cannot replicate the variety of situations that leaders will encounter in real life. Mentoring by an experienced DI expert can help school leaders apply the concepts and procedures discussed during training to actual school situations. The mentoring program provides a supportive, systematic yet flexible bridge between the simulated environment to the real school environment.

Who participates in the mentoring program?

The mentoring program is best designed for school leaders who have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of their role but have not had a great deal of experience fulfilling their role as an instructional leader in their current position. The number of mentors participating in the program can vary. The greater the number of participants, the greater the energy and the collegial support in implementing DI. However, the greater the number of participants, the more difficult it is for the mentor to customize the mentoring program to the specific needs of any single leader.

What are the prerequisites for participating in the program?

The mentoring program is intended for school leaders who have attended the Administrator Leadership Institute at the national DI conference or a similar comprehensive training for leaders of DI implementations. If a school leader has not attended the Administrator Institute, they can still participate in the mentorship program, but their progress may be slower than the progress of mentees who attended the Institute and possess all the prerequisite background knowledge needed for the mentoring program.

What is the primary mechanism of the mentoring program?

The primary mechanism for the program is the mentoring call, which takes place via Zoom or another video-conferencing application. These applications allow for the sharing of documents, pictures, and data, which can enhance the effectiveness of the mentoring sessions. In addition to the Zoom sessions, mentors can make site visits and respond to texts or emails on short notice with a response within 48 hours during the work week.

How often do the mentoring sessions take place?

Weekly mentoring calls can start before preservice (program) training and continue through the end of the fall semester. The frequency of the calls can decrease after winter break if the school leader feels comfortable with reducing the support.

How is the content of the mentoring sessions determined?

Mentees select the topics that are the focus of the mentoring sessions. The mentors draw from several sources, including their own experience, to suggest topics for the mentoring sessions, but the mentees determine what the focus of the sessions will be.

The leadership mentor will refer to the following two sources (among others) to help structure and support the mentoring program:

During the Administrator Leadership Institute, participants are introduced to several Big Ideas for supporting a DI implementation, including:

  • Acceleration and Accountability
  • The three functions of instructional leaders: Setup, Monitoring, and Responding Actively
  • The Implementation Priority Pyramid.

During the Administrator Leadership Institute, participants successfully completed activities that provided opportunities to learn the fundamentals of these Big Ideas. During the mentoring program, the mentor will reference these activities and apply them to the current situation at the mentee’s school as appropriate.

What happens during the mentoring sessions?

The mentoring sessions will follow a general agenda:

  1. A review of last session’s action items. Were the action steps implemented? Did they fully address the need that was identified? If not, what additional step(s) should the mentee take to meet the need that was identified?
  2. The selections of topic(s). The mentor will suggest topics based on the time of year and previous topics covered. Mentees will select the specific topics to address during the mentoring session.
  3. The sharing of data, procedures, data, or rationale. The mentor may share background information, graphs, or other tools regarding the selected topics. The mentee may be asked to share data from in-class observations or student performance data that relate to the selected topics.
  4. Forming consensus on the next action steps. To end the session, the mentor and mentee will select up to three action steps the mentee will take before the next session. As with all learners, it is important that mentees not get overwhelmed by too much to learn or too many assignments. The mentees should build their mastery of essential skills and knowledge systematically.

How do the mentors prevent confusing mentees with multiple inputs?

As in any mentoring program, there’s a potential that mentees in the NIFDI School Leader Mentoring Program can get confused with multiple inputs – inputs from the mentor and other inputs from colleagues or supervisors at the mentee’s school. When there is a difference in the input from the mentor on the implementation of a DI procedure from different sources, the mentor will:

  1. provide the rationale for the NIFDI version of the procedure,
  2. defer to the mentee and the school on the procedure they wish to follow.

Mentors provide information, not direction. If there appears to be a conflict between the information provided by the mentor and the school’s practice, the mentor will be available to discuss with the mentee’s associates or supervisor(s) any aspect of the procedures discussed during the mentoring session, but the mentor will “follow the lead” of the principal on the procedures used at the school.

What type of written report follows each mentoring session?

Within 48 hours after each mentoring session, the mentor writes a short report, which is shared with the mentee and the mentee’s supervisor(s). Each report contains:

  1. A description of the status of action steps identified during the previous mentoring session.
  2. A list of the action steps/foci identified during the most recent mentoring session.
  3. A statement about when the next mentoring session will take place.
  4. Any other concerns, questions, or supplementary steps related to the mentee’s skill development.

What appears on the final report for the mentoring program?

At the end of the school year, the mentor will write a final report to be submitted to the mentee and their supervisor(s). The mentor will describe the mentee’s growth over the school year and provide advice on next steps for the mentee. The mentee will write a reflective summary that will be included in the final report. In the summary, the mentee will describe what was accomplished over the course of the year and what else they can do in subsequent years to become an even more effective leader.

What do mentors need to know about their mentees to get started?

Mentees will need to fill out a questionnaire to provide critical background information on their role and the role of DI in their school. Here are the items included in the preliminary questionnaire:

  • Name:
  • Position:
  • School and location:
  • Years already implementing DI:
  • Grades DI covers at the school:
  • Subject areas DI covers at the school:
  • Role of DI – core instruction or intervention?
  • Goals for the implementation of DI in your schools:
  • Specific obstacles/challenges to meeting the goals:
  • What are you most confident in re: your school/district’s ability to implement DI?
  • What are you most concerned about re: your school/district’s ability to implement DI?

What are the next steps in arranging a mentoring program?

Each mentoring program is custom-designed to fit the needs of each partner school or district. If you are interested in finding out more about how the mentoring program can work for you, we can arrange a call to discuss the program. After we talk, we can submit to you a cost-and-services proposal specifically designed for your school or district leaders.

To get started, fill out the preliminary questionnaire, or call NIFDI at 1-877-485-1973 or email info@nifdi.org with questions.

Resources

The Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) is a nonprofit organization that works in partnership with Baltimore City Schools to support four schools in East Baltimore. Under the guidance of the National Institute for Direct Instruction, BCP provides training and support in Direct Instruction to the four schools.
In-depth interview with Zig Engelmann. Includes over six hours of recorded (phone and video) footage.
Links to the Education Consumer's Foundation and the book Clear Teaching by Shepard Barbash.
In recent years, the Common Core State Standards have become a universal language for schools across our nation and play a significant role in instructional decisions made in schools, including curriculum selections. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were developed with the intent to provide a clear framework of what students are expected to learn and to ensure consistent standards, regardless of where students attend school.
The Education Consumers Foundation (ECF) is modeled after the concept of the Consumers Union (the organization that publishes Consumers Reports) and is focused on education policy and practice. Its core mission is to be a trustworthy source of education research and policy analysis for education consumers.
Users of DI often ask where they can find the special font used in the early levels of the programs. Educational Fontware, Inc. is a company that offers a variety of fonts, including the orthography font seen in programs such as Reading Mastery and DISTAR.
  • Fiscal Effect of Reading Failure (Calculator)
This free online Fiscal Effect of Reading Failure calculator enables users to see a projection of the tax burden that is being created by ineffective K-3 reading instruction and how much can be saved by incremental improvement.
The most powerful beginning reading program available!
Guahan Academy Charter School is the first approved charter school in Guam. The school utilizes Direct Instruction (DI) and serves students in pre-kinder through twelfth grade along with a literacy institute.
IDEA Public Schools is a growing network of tuition-free K-12 public charter schools serving more than 20,000 students in 36 schools throughout the Rio Grande Valley, Austin, and San Antonio. NIFDI works with IDEA Public Schools to implement the comprehensive DI model in all of its 14 elementary schools.
The Education Consumers Foundation's interactive reading charts allow users to compare their local schools on 3rd-grade reading proficiency to others in their state.
For use by Psychology 387 students at Athabasca University.
Publisher of most commercially available DI print materials.
Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann's official website! Articles, commentary, and other writings by Professor Siegfried (Zig) Engelmann, creator of Direct Instruction and founder of the National Institute for Direct Instruction.
Hear the sounds introduced in Reading Mastery Fast Cycle using this online tool. The chart also lists what lesson the sound is introduced in.
Voyager Sopris Learning is a publisher of DI programs, including REWARDS.
Check it out! Find Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann - the senior author and creator of DI - on Wikipedia!
  1. Partner Perspectives
  2. Project Follow Through and Its Relevance Today
  3. Introduction to Teaching Authentic Direct Instruction
  4. Reading Mastery Transformations

Implementing Direct Instruction Successfully

When implemented fully, Direct Instruction (DI) is unparalleled in its ability to improve student performance and enhance students’ self-esteem. In order to implement DI effectively, much more is required than simply purchasing instructional materials. The following two-part tutorial guides administrators, teachers, and coaches through the key features of a successful DI implementation. Part I provides an overview of the steps schools need to take in preparation for a DI implementation before school starts, while Part II provides an overview of the steps schools need to take after school has started.

IMPORTANT: This tutorial is an intensive video series comprised of 18 segments, each followed by a series of questions. Users should allow approximately three hours to watch the videos and complete the questions. NIFDI recognizes the high demand for time placed on school officials and, for this reason, has structured the tutorial so users may stop at any time and later resume where they left off.

Enroll in the tutorial here. 

Tutorial Thinkific Header
New to Direct Instruction? Watch the Introduction to Direct Instruction Video Series before taking the online tutorial.

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In Memory of
Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann

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