Behavioral Models

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Behavioral Models Direct Instruction
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• 1. Development is a direct result of outside
  experiences
• 2. Students respond to events in their own
  environment
• 3. Behaviors are acquired by learning and can be
  modified by learning
• 4. Behavior is observable and identifiable

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• 5. Behavior change comes in small steps
• 6. Reinforcement is constantly occurring at all
  times to all events

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• 7. Why reinforcement is usually not successful in
  schools
• Reinforcement is infrequent
• Immediate feedback is infrequent
• Curriculum is organized in large unmanageable
  chunks
• Not enough attention to Positive Reinforcement
• Too much attention to Punishment

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• 8. If we want students to learn something teach
  it.
• 9. We cannot expect students to discover or
  choose what is appropriate all the time
• 10. Instructional time is better spent on direct
  instruction of pertinent information

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Features of Direct Instruction

• A major goal of direct instruction is the
  maximization of student learning time
• Teaching practices that facilitate learning
  include
• presenting material in small steps to be mastered
  one at a time
• providing many varied examples of the new skills
  to be learned
• modeling of the learning task
• avoiding digressions (dont deal with those
  pesky teachable moments)
• re-explaining difficult points
• A common error is simply asking students if they
  understand. No Assumptions. Only hard evidence
  of mastery.

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Principles of Teaching Using Direct Instruction

• Shaping
• Practice 1 -- highly structured
• Practice 2 -- semi-independent
• Practice 3 -- guided
• Practice 4 -- independent
• Distributed Practice Over Time
• Optimal Time between Practice (Close together
  initially, following by longer and longer periods
  of time between guided practice sessions)