Siegfried “Zig” Engelmann is a Professor of Education at the University of Oregon, creator of Direct Instruction (DI), founder of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) and the senior author of the DI programs. He is a pioneer in developing instructional methods that accelerate the learning of all children.
Engelmann first developed the DI methodology at the University of Illinois in the 1960s in the Engelmann-Bereiter preschool for at-risk children. He applied the DI approach to the primary grades as part of Project Follow Through (1967-1977), the largest educational experiment in the history of the U.S.
Engelmann has authored over 100 instructional programs, ranging from beginning reading to elementary chemistry and earth sciences. He has authored 50 chapters, 95 articles, and 20 books on educational psychology and instruction, including Theory of Instruction. He has received several public recognitions for his work, including the Award for Education Research from the Council of Scientific Society Presidents in 2002.
His current projects include the development of a language track for the Horizons reading program published by McGraw-Hill Education and an accelerated reading program for non-English speakers to accompany the Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE) program published by Sopris Learning.
Laura Doherty has served as President and CEO of the Baltimore Curriculum Project since July 2012. Doherty became interested in teaching at an early age. Her mother was a special education teacher and Doherty grew up hearing and adopting the philosophy that anyone can be taught to read.
In 1994, she began teaching, and eventually consulting, in the Chicago Public Schools. Later, Doherty served as Headmaster and teacher at the Baraka School, an innovative boarding school in Kenya, Africa for at-risk boys.
Doherty has led and managed all aspects of the Direct Instruction implementation for reading, math, writing, spelling, and US History. As President and CEO of the Baltimore Curriculum Project, she directs the work of three neighborhood conversion charter schools as they use Direct Instruction to improve education for Baltimore City students through curriculum implementation, teacher training, in-class coaching, and data analysis.
