Has your district received training and on-site coaching support for implementing Direct Instruction (DI), and is now looking for ways to maintain implementation with a high level of fidelity?
The Institute on Becoming an Effective DI Trainer at the National DI Conference and Institutes can help your school or district expand its capacity to provide training and support for DI implementation by developing on-site trainers.
The institute provides advanced training for teachers, coaches, and building coordinators who already have substantial DI experience and are ready to become trainers. Over the course of five days, participants are introduced to the main steps for developing a program training for teachers new to Direct Instruction: creating a training outline, designing materials for a training packet, identifying critical program formats, and articulating the rationale for the program’s design. Participants pre-select a program and level to train in, develop an outline for training teachers in that program, and then deliver a presentation to the other participants. Trainees spend approximately half their time with the course leaders and the other half in other sessions, observing and assisting in actual program training sessions at the institute.
Participation in the institute requires extensive experience with Direct Instruction programs. A prerequisite for admission to the institute is a minimum of 2 full years of DI teaching experience in one DI program.
The institute provides no program training – it assumes that applicants have already been trained in their pre-selected program and have substantial first-hand experience teaching the program. The institute's focus is on effective training techniques and the general content that should be included in training. Other sessions at the National Direct Instruction Conference and Institutes provide program-specific training.
Prospective participants must complete a separate application for admission into the institute. You can download a
pdf
PDF here
or fill out the online application here. Applications are due by May 30, 2026. Notification will be made by June 14, 2026.
Direct questions about the institute to institutes@nifdi.org.
Return to the National Direct Instruction Conference and Institutes page.
