Direct Instruction? Sure, If You Don’t Want Einsteins!
I get a bit hot under the collar–okay, a lot hot under the collar, when I read posts like this:
What Can We Learn from Direct Instruction and Siegfried Engelmann?
Don’t get me wrong. The blogger has definitely pulled together some key data on the benefits of direct instruction, where teachers demonstrate “how” and students then practice for mastery, for children in poverty. There are key reasons to use direct instruction.
But…not all students from poverty have the same learning needs. And this kind of instruction is what made Einstein and Edison drop out of school. And here’s my big point:
It isn’t EITHER Direct Instruction OR Student-Centered Instruction. It’s both.
Sorry to shout. But either/or thinking won’t work on this issue. Here’s three big reasons why.