Planning for the National Direct Instruction Conference and Institutes has begun. We are excited to announce that John Wills Lloyd, Ph.D., will present the opening keynote in Eugene, Oregon, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. Mr. Lloyd was a faculty member at the School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in Special Education in 1976 from the University of Oregon. While at the U of O, he studied under Barbara Bateman and

spent a lot of time with Zig Engelmann. He credits them, among others, for giving him the foundation that understanding the needs of all learners, especially those with special needs, is critical for educators. He co-edits the journal Exceptional Children, the flagship publication of The Council for Exceptional Children. He is an excellent speaker and prolific writer. He publishes a newsletter, Special Education Today, which we encourage you to check out.

Other news about the conference is we will be holding pre-conference workshops on Monday, July 24, and the popular Direct Instruction Administrator Leadership Institute has been expanded to 5 days.

Plan now to be in Eugene July 24-29, 2023, for the National Direct Instruction Conference and Institutes, where you will receive the most comprehensive training in Direct Instruction available!

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. This new NIFDI service is designed primarily as a follow-up for those who have attended the Direct Instruction Leadership Institute or a similar comprehensive training for leaders of DI implementations. Mentoring by an experienced DI expert can help school leaders apply the concepts and procedures discussed during the institute to actual school situations. The mentoring program provides a supportive, systematic yet flexible bridge between the simulated environment to the real school environment.

The primary mechanism for the program is the mentoring call, which takes place via Zoom or another video-conferencing application. 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.

Click here to read a complete description of the program!

For the past 2 years, NIFDI has been distributing Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE). We are happy to announce that the DISE program is available for purchase direct from the publisher, Educational Achievement Publishing (EAP). The mission of EAP “is to provide the highest quality, most effective instructional programs for students and teachers.” If you are interested in learning more about DISE, there are two informative interviews available here.

Starting in January, EAP will distribute a monthly newsletter with teaching and implementation tips on using DISE to help students acquire essential receptive and expressive English language skills. To subscribe to the newsletter, click here.

To visit the EAP website, go to https://eapublish.com/.

Three hundred educators from around the world gathered at the end of July in Eugene, Oregon for the 48th National Direct Instruction Conference. The opening session included the presentation of the Wayne Carnine Student Improvement Award and a keynote delivered by Anita Archer.

The Carnine Award went to Raymond Minney, a student at David Douglas Arthur Academy in Portland, Oregon. Doug and Linda Carnine read from the nomination letters submitted by Raymond’s Kindergarten, 2nd and 4th-5th grade teachers, and his intervention specialist. When Linda asked Raymond if he had anything to say, he simply said, “Never give up!”

The opening continued with an excellent keynote by Dr. Anita Archer. Anita guided the group through many of her “Archerisms.” These are Anita’s Golden Principles of Explicit Direct Instruction. These include such sage advice as “Avoid the void, for they will fill it.” And “Don’t commit assumicide.”

Click here to view the conference opening. Also, it’s not too early to begin planning to be in Eugene for the 49th National DI Conference, July 24-28, 2023.