Direct instruction (DI) is usually considered as one of the most frequently used teacher-centered methodologies. Direct instruction excels at providing information and developing step-by-step skills. The main purpose of DI is to promote student on-task behavior through explicit instruction, ongoing support, and student engagement in successful practice, with the emphasis being highly placed on the interaction between teachers and students (Guzman & Paya, 2020, p. 1). For instance, as my own example university professors may teach Calculus by solving textbook problems. During such a step-by-step instruction, students learn the reasoning in each step. Occasionally, some students may have difficulty understanding the reasoning in some procedure. At this moment, professor may explain further through ongoing support. Students may apply what they just learn in solving the similar problems, thereby improving learning effects. 

Like indicated in the previous example, in my own understanding, direct instruction demands highly on both teacher side and student side. To teachers, they are expected to have high level of communication skill, because mastering a concept does not necessarily lead to the mastery in teaching a concept. To students, they are expected to have high concentration and comprehension skills, otherwise it would take student a lot of time to understand the concepts. 

Furthermore, DI consists of various key components, such as modelling, reinforcement, feedback, and successive approximations (Guzman & Paya, 2020, p. 1). â€śThe instructional design principles include framing of learner performance into goals and tasks, breaking these tasks into smaller component tasks, designing training activities for mastery, and arranging the learning events into sequences that promote transfer and achievement of prerequisite learning before moving to more advanced learning” (Guzman & Paya, 2020, p. 1). 

After meeting up the peers of my group, I realize that direction instruction does align with our chosen topic. Even though the Excel assignment to be designed in this project lacks full interaction between “teachers” and “students”, it does fulfill some necessary elements of main objective of DI. For instance, the Excel assignment is itself an on-task behavior that requires students’ significant engagement. In addition to giving detailed instruction on how to accomplish this Excel assignment, our group would design a virtual “help session” in which we provide supports by answering students’ inquiries whenever students get stuck. 

                                 Reference

Guzmán, J. F., & Payá, E. (2020). Direct instruction vs. cooperative learning in physical education: Effects on student learning, behaviors, and subjective experience. Sustainability, 12(12), 4893. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/su12124893