Latest News in DI

877.485.1973 | 541.485.1973
Info@NIFDI.org

877.485.1973 | Info@NIFDI.org

News from NIFDI

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All Students Can Succeed-A Half Century of Research on the Effectiveness of Direct Instruction has been released by Lexington Books. The book, authored by Jean Stockard, Timothy Wood, Cristy Coughlin and Caitlin Rasplica Khoury, is an extensive meta-analysis of the research literature on Direct Instruction.

Senior author Jean Stockard comments, "The literature on DI's effectiveness is massive, no doubt greater than that involving any other curricular program. In our research we found over 500 reports of the effectiveness of DI published over a span of 50 years. We tried to find every study of the program, from research articles to books to dissertations to newsletters. We carefully read each of the reports and made extensive notes (or codes) on the contents including the subject matter, tests used, types of analysis, participants, setting, and, of course, the results."

The publisher says, "Extensive statistical analyses show that estimates of DI's effectiveness are consistent over time, with different research approaches, across different school environments, students from all types of backgrounds, different comparative programs, and both academic and non- academic outcomes, including student self confidence." They go on to say, "An evenhanded style accessible to policy makers, educators, and parents, the authors describe the theory underlying DI, summarize its development, history, and use, systematically examine criticisms; and discuss policy implications."

Click here to order your copy from Lexington Books

Join us Monday, July 27 at 9am Pacific, for the Opening Keynote for the Virtual Direct Instruction Conference. The keynote, delivered by Bill Sower, is titled Reason to Hope, Direct Instruction and the Future of our Fragile World. Part one, Conscientious Blindness, traces the history of policies that have directly or indirectly contributed to the continuing plight of under educated students. Part two, The Medicine Wheel of Educational Solutions, presents viewers with a framework on how we can give students the education they truly deserve.

Presenter Bill Sower has taught and advocated for Direct Instruction for many years as a special education teacher for incarcerated youth, public school teacher and principal, and consultant authorized by the Michigan Department of Education to serve the state's lowest performing schools.

Bill has also pioneered the use of Restorative Practices in Michigan schools.

To sign up for this free session click here.

The National Institute for Direct Instruction is pleased to announce that they will soon begin selling Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE) through our online store.

DISE, formerly published by Voyager Sopris Learning, is designed to help non-English speaking students who have at least a third grade knowledge of their native language achieve a functional mastery of the English language in one year or less. The program features an explicit, systematic instructional model that supports English language learners. DISE only teaches spoken English -- not reading or writing skills. All lessons are presented in English, and the teacher does not need to know the students' native language. Students are taught both social and academic vocabulary.

The program has two levels. Level I consists of 100 90-minute lessons. Students who have no knowledge of the English language will need between 140 and 170 days to complete the 100 lessons in Level I of the program. Level II is a continuation of Level I and consists of 80 lessons. Students will need 100-120 school days to complete all 80 lessons. Lessons in Level II require 50 minutes versus the 90 minutes required per lesson in Level I.

Complete pricing and ordering information will be announced in early August. We anticipate we will begin to fill orders by August 15. If you have questions, please contact us at info@nifdi.org.

Is your school using a distance learning model this Fall? With schools shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NIFDI is meeting the needs of educators by offering two webinars that will assist in understanding the considerations for delivering Direct Instruction in a variety of methods, such as live presentation via Zoom (or other platforms), pre-recorded lessons, and packets of material for students to work through.

On July 21, we will offer a webinar for those teaching Reading Mastery Signature Edition Reading K and 1. The 90 minute session will contain specific information about tasks that must be modified for live, virtual instruction and also look at effective techniques for checking for mastery of material presented in recorded lessons. Click here to register.

July 23, we will present a followup to the Reading Mastery Signature Edition Language webinar we presented earlier in May. This expanded session will be free to those that attend the first event. One need not have attended the earlier presentation to benefit from the information presented. Click here to register.

Please let us know if there are questions you need answers to, and we will try and address them in the webinars. Send your questions to training@nifdi.org.