- Based on the idea that you must learn simple tasks before you can learn complex ones
- Does not allow teachers to access prior knowledge
- Only works for a small percentage of students and depends on students' learning styles
- Content may be rapidly forgotten and attention span is often limited--especially in a lecture setting
- Can stifle teacher creativity
- Direct Instruction can allow for the teacher to be easily pulled off topic if students ask interesting off topic questions
- Requires a great deal of planning when presenting higher level thinking skills
- If a teacher does not monitor him or herself, repetitious explanations may take up much of the class time and/or materials
Friday, June 11, 2010
Disadvantages of Direct Instruction
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What is a disadvantage of Direct Instruction you have personally dealt with? How did you adapt to make the situation work for you?
ReplyDeleteIn a design class that I took I found it very frustrating that there was no deviation from the plan. I had no background in any art class so I always felt at a disadvantage even though the instructor believed she was starting from scratch...not so.
ReplyDeleteJennifer Schmidt
One problem that i had is that DI is not well suited for classes with students with mixed abilities. As an advanced student who took an online Photoshop class, i found myself retreading basic information that I had already been using for years. While other students benefited from the remedial parts of the class, I just grew frustrated, blew through the first 9 chapters assignments and watched YouTube for a week.
ReplyDeleteChris, I agree that DI really limits those that are ready to move on and add to the knowledge they already have. I also think that direct instruction requires little thinking on the part of the student if they are not involved, and therefore the information is frequently forgotten b/c it has not truly become the learners own knowledge.
ReplyDelete-Anna
I think one of the hardest things about Direct Instruction is knowing how simple to begin. You would hate to be over some students head with the knowledge that you believe is very basic or be at a mark that is too simple that people become board and become uninterested. Would some type of pre-assessment help to better determine the information necessary to begin a Direct Instruction lesson?
ReplyDeleteMaybe having instructional videos available as a introduction or review would be helpful.
Students regardless of age, often have short attention spans when being lectured. Even with the most exciting lectures it is difficult to stay focused for long periods of time. This also leads to short retention of information.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have to agree with the idea that it does not account for previous knowledge. You would expect in a high school setting for my students to have a certain set of skills because the classes are sequential. In college, I could pick and choose the order of the classes I took. I took an online course where I felt like I was always behind because I had not taken any multimedia courses before. I was constantly having to do extra work to try to get myself to the point where everyone else was. It was frustrating, but I got through it. I have also had the opposite where I felt like I was being taught things I had already learned and the professor kept repeating themselves. You just have to move through it and accept that not all online courses will be suited to start at everyone's individual ability level.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, Whitney, it does not allow for previous knowledge. The material is often presented and the instructor never really knows what people in the class already know.
ReplyDeleteIt is also a good point to mention attention spans, it is easy to get distracted in any lecture--especially in an online environment where there are so many other things.
DI might not reach all the students depending on learning style. If you spend too much time in class remediating you will lose the audience. I try to tell the "lost" individuals to seek help or review the material on their own outside of class.
ReplyDeleteI agree the direct instruction is difficult for classes with mixed abilities. I always start with very basic computer concepts. And there are plenty of students that need to start at the very beginning. But, I have other students that are advanced and it must be torture for them to crawl through the first few weeks. I found a little work around. I start at with basic concepts, but I tell the more advance students that the schedule is posted and if they wish to work ahead, they may.
ReplyDeleteAnother disadvantage can be lack of the big picture. IF only a few steps are revealed at a time, and each has to be completed before moving on to the next, it can be difficult to understand the complex relationships between the concepts being taught. (Linear vs. Lateral instruction) Anyone take instructional design yet ; )
ReplyDeleteYou all have very good points regarding the disadvantages that Direct Instruction has. It is not always appropriate for all students learning styles however, if you integrate a video and audio recording as well as the text to read, that may help some more students. I also agree that you might not be able to see the relationship between the concepts being taught. I have taken Instructional Design and understand that this can be very difficult.
ReplyDeleteI think the biggest disadvantage is losing student's interest, especially if relevance is not always demonstrated. In a step by step piece, students may not always understand that they are building a base, and may get frustrated at the task at hand. ~CS
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to for an instructor to know whether or not they are meeting the needs of the students. I think it would also be hard for an instructor to know if the attention of the students is lacking. In a "real" classroom, a teacher can gauge attention simply by observing. Online instruction doesn't really allow for this.
ReplyDeleteI feel like like there are times when I have stunted the growth or discouraged the exploration of some advanced students by using direct instruction. My goal is to get more direct instruction automated (podcasts, vodcasts, etc.) so those advanced students can access them at a faster pace and have time to do the explorations they truly deserve.
ReplyDeleteChris - That's a good idea - to get some of the direct instruction automated. It would help the slower students, too. They could go at their own pace, and review the material as many times as they wanted.
ReplyDeleteChris it is said to think that many teachers just simply "move on" even when they know the students may not have an accurate understanding. Direct Instruction may teach the concept but like you stated earlier, doesn't allow for too many project based activities which is how many students learn.
ReplyDeleteChris, I agree with you. I think a huge benefit of using technology to delivery direct instruction is the ability to easily build in branched instruction to meet both the needs of the lower ability students AND allow the advanced students to quickly move through the lower skills, or even by pass them, and continue on to skills that challenge their abilities.
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ReplyDelete