1. Strategy Report for Math: Direct Instruction By: Christine Bryan

2. Where the Strategy was found The strategy was found on the Access Center website which is a website dedicated to informing people about various approaches and strategies for teaching the learning disabled. Their mission is to improve the learning outcome for all students in grades K-8.

3. This strategy is supported by the following research “According to researchers and the results of several meta-analyses (Ellis, 1993; Karp & Voltz, 2000; Swanson, 2001), using a combination of direct instruction and strategy instruction has a greater positive effect than either method alone. Teaching basic skills to students through direct instruction and then teaching them strategies to store and retrieve the information will ensure a successful educational experience for all students. However, for students with disabilities and students who are at risk, these approaches are crucial for the retention of new skills”.

4. Description of the strategy “With direct instruction, teachers follow a sequence of events, generally stating the objective, reviewing skills necessary for new information, presenting new information, questioning students, providing group instruction and independent practice, assessing performance, and giving more practice”.

5. Will this Strategy work best for one type of student over another This strategy will work with all students, but especially well with students who are learning disabled. It will also benefit students who are more literal learners and do not thrive off of cooperative learning or a lot of group work. The type of student who will benefit most is a student who needs explicit instructions, review of those instructions and then given a chance to practice the new skills.

6. Why did you select this strategy I chose this strategy because it’s simplicity intrigued me. I truly believe that students with learning disabilities often benefit greatly from direct instruction. They need to be taught, given a chance to practice and then review the new skill for the best learning outcome.

7. References http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_reso urces/DirectExplicitInstruction_Mathematics.a sp