Direct Teaching Methods: Get to the Point Already

Moore, Kenneth D. Effective Instructional Strategies. Chapter 5: Using Direct Teaching Methods

Moore outlines the major pros and cons of direct instruction in the fifth chapter of his book, Effective Instructional Strategies. While direct instruction has gotten a bad rap for being too traditional and teacher-focused, Mr. Moore was able to illuminate both sides of the debate. On one hand, there is merit to the current criticism; direct instruction is a low student-involvement method that is often employed due to the limited planning required. Conversely, it is an efficient way to express material and can be done in a manner which invites engagement. Specifically, the way in which questioning is used to augment the lecture can allow a teacher to turn a potential ineffective method into a potent way to transfer knowledge and skills to students.

In reading this chapter, it struck me that a great weakness with lecture is that it is often used as a crutch to take the place of more considered instruction. When teachers are using plain vanilla lecture as a way to means of simplifying their lives, no doubt it is an ineffective strategy. In my experience, when I give lessons in a lecture format but supplement them with student questioning and numerous examples, I feel as though I have intentionally chosen an efficient, effective method. Making certain to use questioning to extract potential misunderstandings (Are you sure that's a negative 7? Why wouldn't it be positive?) and involving students with solving small parts of large equations has proven successful in mitigating the downsides of lecture.