This study compared attitudes and beliefs of conventional teachers with teachers who worked at schools implementing Direct Instruction. A survey was designed to collect information about beliefs teachers held about the philosophy and practice of teaching. Four general findings were discussed: 1) DI teachers expressed more certainty in their beliefs about teaching practices than conventional teachers, 2) less than half of the DI teachers placed importance on topics that received the most support from conventional teachers, such as issues around student learning styles, 3) DI teachers favored teaching practices that were explicit and systematic, and 4) perceptions of DI teachers and conventional teachers differed with respect to variables that contribute to effective teaching, expectations for student performance, and value placed on research and training. (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).

This study examined the effects of implementation of a three-tiered model of reading instruction in a Title I school. The model utilized the Direct Instruction program, Reading Mastery Plus, across all three tiers, wherein instruction was intensified at Tier 2 and Tier 3. Results indicate that all students, including special education and Title I students, made substantial gains in reading achievement. All students improved more than a half of standard deviation from pre- to posttest on all subtests of DIBELS and the Scholastic Reading Inventory. This study provides preliminary support for altering the intensity of one reading program, Reading Mastery Plus, across all three tiers in place of varying programs across tiers. (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).

This study compared the effects of the Direct Instruction program, Spelling Mastery, and traditional spelling instruction on spelling achievement of special education elementary students receiving services for a learning disability. Unit tests, a standardized spelling test, a sentence-writing test, a transfer test, and a maintenance test were administered to all students. Results indicate that students in the Spelling Mastery group significantly outperformed comparison students on words of high predictability (regular, morphological, and spelling-rule words). (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).

This study examined the effects of delivering the Direct Instruction writing program, Expressive Writing, to three high school students with learning disabilities. Correct Word Sequences (CWS) on narrative writing tasks and pre- and post-intervention scores on the spontaneous writing scales of the Test of Oral and Written Language (TOWL-3) were measured. A variation of the multiple baseline design was employed, wherein CWS were measured during baseline, intervention, and maintenance phases. Results indicate that all three students made large gains on CWS measures and demonstrated improvement on the TOWL-3 spontaneous writing scales following the Expressive Writing intervention. (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).